


A Vessle of Death and Midnight

by ShippingsandDeamons



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Ren's parents are good and decent people here, Ren's parents are prepared to raise hell for their son, Selling your unborn child to a god in exchange for power, Shido is a horible father, Vigil constantly throwing shade at Yaldabaoth, and his friends, braids bring people together, isolating a child, mental grooming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 10:40:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 40,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21298103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShippingsandDeamons/pseuds/ShippingsandDeamons
Summary: Even in his youth, Shido was a man of unbound ambition. If it worked in his favor, he'd even be willing to make deals with the devil himself. The godess Nyx might not be that far off. A deal for power in exchange for a single sacrifice, only a fool to pass up such an offer. And at such a convenient time too, for this was a good chance to deal with his unborn bastard child. Two birds with a single stone.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 62





	1. The Deal

“So, you are the one known as Shido Masayoshi,” A cool voice drawled.

The balcony window right behind his desk flew open as though hit by a gale wind, glass panes rattling in their frames as the twin door clattered to a halt, the glass somehow unbroken. The drapes framing the balcony doorway fluttered with the sudden opening of the doors, gliding back into place. A slight winter breeze whispered in through the ajar opening, but there were no gusts. What hap opened the door so suddenly?

“It is a privilege to be in the presence of one such as myself, and the highest of honors to catch my eye,”

The voice came from behind him, but who was speaking? He was alone in his office, the sole residence of his penthouse apartment, which sat on the 30th floor of the complex. Closing the door to keep out the winter chill, Shido slowly, cautiously turned around to face whoever was speaking to him. There was a kernel of anger, how dare someone break into his residence, did they now know who he was?

The speaker sat in front of his desk, or perhaps sitting wasn’t the right word. It was more apt to say they were suspended in the air, body posed as though sitting, their eye boring down on him. The figure un darkly was like nothing he’d encountered in the past; long black hair fell in a straight waterfall down their back and over their narrow shoulders, slender arm crossed and one slender leg draped over the other. Their dark clothes seemed to ebb and flow, shifting and changing as though living shadows. Unreadable eyes observed him from behind long long, dark lashes. Lush pale lips quirked ever so slightly into a knowing smirk, the black of their hair beautifully framing high cheeks and a smooth jaw.

Though their body was slender and pale like a woman, there was this inhuman, otherworldly air about them that made the pronoun feel wrong. He was certain he was in the presence of nothing human, be they a god or a devil, he wasn’t certain of yet. They were here for something, that much he was certain of, they didn’t come across as the type to just frivolously appear before mere mortals on a whim. A deal with a higher power, that would be a great step towards achieving his goal of becoming Japan’s Prime Minister.

He gave the dea a formal, flourished bow; a sign of respect. As a politician, words and body gestures were his sword and spear. He knew how to act to impress.

“Greetings, fair Madama, may I humbly implore your name and the reason a being such as yourself would seek me out?” He asked, words rich and inviting. He chose to address the being as ‘Madama’, even if they were neither male nor female, it some something safe that would unlikely upset them.

Their lips quirked in a faint smile. He knew he would be unable to hide anything from their icy eyes, but diplomacy was the art of impressing, and Masayoshi Shido was a man who did that in spades. When he made promises, he delivered on them. It was the reason he was so well-liked by the public, and scorned by his fellow politicians.

“I am the goddess of death and midnight, Nyx,” Thay said, voice chiming and fail like an instrument. “And the reason I am here, Shido, is to strike a deal with you. You seek power to fulfill your ambitions, and I can provide my assistance,”

Shido practically trembled in anticipation. A goddess who wished to offer their power and aid in helping him reach his goal. Only a fool would let an opportunity such as this slip by untapped, and Shido was no fool. But a fool would also forget to read the fine print.

“Now then, what is your answer?” They implored him, voice smooth and fair.

“Madama Nys, I am truly humbled that you would offer a mortal such as myself your assistance, but before I agree to your deal, may I ask what your cost is?” He inquired politely. “Pardon my words if they sound offensive, but I find it hard to believe that someone such as yourself would make a deal with no expectation of something in return.”

Shido hadn’t gained the power and influence he had now by being reckless. There was always a price, and it was in his best interest to know that price before sealing the deal.

Nyx’s expression remained cool and collected, but, if he didn’t know better, did that smile seem wider? It was as if Nyx was impressed.

“Wise man,” They praised. “But yes, you are correct in assuming I want something in return for my assistance. My price is simple and fair; a sacrifice. You will submit to me a person of your choosing to become my vessel, should there come a time I need one.”

Only a single life as a sacrifice? Shido had been expecting something more, demanding. But, perhaps the goddess saw more worth in a single life? In any event, a single life was nothing to him. Nyx wasn't even asking him to kill them, only submit them as their property should they ever need a host, a vessel to dwell in. Something like that was a drop of water in the entire ocean to him. But who did he offer up? Nyx said they would be their vessel, but only if the godly being ever needed such a thing. So, they would not be needing the sacrifice to submit right away.

Mulling over his option, and there were many to chose from, it was a surprisingly hard decision to come too. It came down to who, out of the mass of least important pawns he had, to chose the most fitting to offer up to the goddess.

Then he remembered one person in particular.

A few days ago, he had cut contact with a woman whose name eluded him at the moment, but she was pregnant with his child. The woman had been nothing but a means to pleasure, and the child she carried was nothing but a bastard. But an unborn child would be the perfect sacrifice. Nyx could shape them to be however they saw fit. It worked in both of their favor; he could be assured the child could never cause him a scandal, and Nyx would have a sacrifice that could be shaped into however they wished.

“I believe I have someone in mind that would be more than satisfactory,” He began slowly. “Would a child unborn at the moment be more than enough of a sacrifice?”

Nyx smile. It was a grin full of flawless teeth, the action itself not feeling human in the least. “My, my, Shido, you truly know how to make a deal. You cannot comprehend just how pleased I am. A child unborn is the perfect sacrifice you can offer one such as myself. A life to groom and break as my leisure is a wondrous thing indeed.”

He gave the goddess one of his charismatic political smiles. “I am glad to have pleased you, and I promise to do all in my power to ensure the child grows into a fine vessel for you.”

One life was insignificant to his goals- people were easily replaced as they grew useless to his plans. It was by pure chance that the bastard child would be of use to him, in any other place; he would have ensured the child was out of the picture entirely. He had no worries about the woman putting up a fuss. Both were aware that should she raise the child, and unless she declined his offer, she would be forced to do just that, everyone would know the child was a bastard and brand her appropriately. She’d been easy enough to twist around his finger in the first place, and it was unlikely she’d freed herself from his snare after only a few days.

“I will leave one of mine here to assist you in raising my sacrifice,” Nyx said.

Raising one of their hands, a figure emerged from the gloom beneath them. The person appeared to be a young man; skin pale and hair black as the shadows he’d emerged from. He was dressed in an immaculate black butler uniform with crisp white gloves and dress shirt. The only thing off about him was the piercing gold eyes of his, as cold and dark as his master’s.

“Greetings, sir,” The man said, bowing with an arm across his chest. “You may refuge to me as ‘Vigil’, I am here to assist in the upbringing of the young master.”

“Feel free to leave all of the child’s care to Vigil,” Nyx added. “That is his role, after all.”

Shido smiled, and nodded. This was all working out perfectly. Not only did he have Nyx’s support, but the cost of said support was nothing. And the godly being had even given him a caretaker for the brat, so he would never have to care for them at all. Vigil would ensure that the child grew to be the perfect vessel for Nyx, that there would be no risk for him.

“For now, I shall take my leave, and rest assured, when the child is born, I will fulfill my end of the deal,” Nyx promised, rising to their feet.

With a flick of their finger, they were gone, leaving Shido and Vigil alone in the foyer.

Vigil bowed his head. “I shall go prepare a nursery for the young master, please excuse me.”

Vigil slipped off to go chose a room for the nursery, leaving Shido alone in the darkness. In a few short months, His place of power would be set in stone, and there would be nothing anyone could do to prevent his rule. It would take a while, more than a decade, but the best plans were those that took their time. He would gather power, make loyal allies, and set the board in his favor.

Soon he really would be captain.


	2. Empty Vessle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was empty, and would remain empty until Nyx took controle.

A life under Vigil’s constant over vigilant golden gaze in that dark, dark room was all he’d ever known. The room set aside as his was painted in the blackest color of pain imaginable, the color made darker by a lack of windows. The only light available from one in the ceiling, or, on occasions when the full room did not need light, a small lamp on his desk. For the first 6 years of his life, he only had Vigil, his caretaker the only ‘human’ (calling him human was a stretch) interaction. He wasn’t even allowed to leave his room until the age of 3. In that time, darkness and a baron room were his entire world. Bland meals and tasteless drinks were brought to his room, when he needed a bath, Vigil brought a tub of warm water and washed him in his room.

When he turned 7, a second person was finally added to his tiny, desolate world. Vigil introduced the man as Shido Masayoshi. He was a politician, and the owner of the home his room was a part of. Also… Shido was his father. He didn’t understand the word at first, it was something Vigil had opted not to teach him about until he was old enough to be around the man, supposedly. When he was deemed old enough to understand his situation, Vigil explained everything to him. How Shido had sold his life to Vigil’s master, the goddess Nyx, several months before he was born, how he was a sacrifice, a vessel meant to potentially one day become Nyx’s true body.

His purpose as Nyx’s vessel, it was the reason why he’d spend so much of his early life issolated, and why Vigil deprived him of so many things; it was to keep him from forming an ego, an identity. Both choice and happiness were deemed unnecessary, food would be tasteless because an empty vessel had no reason to have favorite foods. Schooling was neccisary, Vigil taught him everything deemed necisary to know; how to res, write, math, science, even philosophy.

Most everything he asked for he was denied.

“There is no point in “Akechi Goro” becoming a real person, a cup has no need for a soul or an ego,” Vigil had offhandedly explained to him, when asked. “is it not better to be nothing? That way, when Nyx takes over and you cease to exist, there isn’t anything to lose.”

The logic behind it was horribly twisted and deranged, but he did have to admit, there was truth to it. Despite his youth and isolation from the world, he could see the reason behind those callus words: was it not better to be nothing when your existence was inevitably doomed to be wiped away? It was the reason yearnings and desires, likes and dislikes, had been squashed out at a young age. When Nyx finally took control, “Goro Akechi” would be nothing more than a label to peel off and toss aside. If there was ever a point his marron eyes held life in them, it was lost very early on; having no concept of rebellion, all he could do was submit to his caretaker’s whims.

Being denied every request was normal. So, when he wandered up to Vigil, just barely 14, as asked “Can I become a detective?”, getting a “Sure, why not,” was not what he’d been expecting. Vigil had only allowed him a few pleasures, one being his like of mystery novels, his golden-eyed caretaker allowing him to take a preference to those over other novels and forms of fiction. The second was being allowed to become a detective like those from his many books. Being isolated for so long, with only Vigil (and occasionally Shido) for company, and being empty by nature, there was much to do before he could be allowed into the vaster world beyond the confines of Shido’s apartment.

The first few months were spent studying law and criminal investigations, whilst cultivating the skills needed. He had a natural habit of observing everything around him with keen focus, doing that with speech and body language was child’s play. Alongside that, he was taught how to interact with other people without giving away his hollow nature. It was harder, crafting a false face to flash the masses, lest they see the emptiness inside. Eventually, the acts and mannerisms became second nature. Learning social cues and the like were easy, given his observant nature, but the difficult part was reacting appropriately.

Halfway through his 14th year, he was finally allowed to become a detective. Using Shido’s numerous connections; Akechi (under Vigil’s constant supervision) assisted the police in solving a case. It was nothing grand; just a simple act of theft, and he was kept as far from the limelight as possible. But he’d finally become a detective. The rest of that year was spent similarly; assisting the police in solving cases while never receiving any recognition for his work.

That was just fine. For a creature as empty inside as himself, praise and fame were useless. He simply enjoyed the act of solving mysteries with his own wit and perseverance. 

That first case, the petty theft, was the first and last of it’s kind. After adequately showing his skills, Vigil quickly had him move on from pretty crimes like theft, and work on darker, messier crimes. Murder, drug trafficking, human trafficking, organized crime, these and other suck horrible terrors wrung from the worst humanity had to offer. It became a self-serving cycle; the more he honed and showed off his skills, the more he aided in investigations, the more use he was, the more he was sought after, the more he was needed, the more horrors he saw. If Vigil hadn’t buried any hope of an ego in him long ago, Akechi might have found himself disturbed by it all. Instead, the blood and the pain was just another mystery to solve.

It happened a little after his 15th birthday, like every year the date was noted and acknowleged, but never celebrated. Like every other morning, Vigil was grooming his hair; soft-bristled brush running through locks of cinnamon that fell to just about waist length. When his hair had been dutifully smoothed of every snag, tangle, and knot, his golden eyed caretaker tugged softly and pulled his hair back, weaving the smooth and shiny locks into a tight braid. The braid was the most practical style for hair as long as he had, it kept the length from becoming a hindurance during investigations. With his hands obidiantly still in his lap, he waited until his caretaker removed his deft hands before moving of his own accord.

“There we go, all set for the day~” Vigil purred as usual.

Retrieving his phone, a smiple thin touch screen device picked out for work purposed, the few micellanious apps chosen to give the aperence of amusment, he unlocked the device and quickly checked for any uppdates from work. Thumb hovering over the text app, he paused when his maroon gaze fell upon an unfamiliar icon. It was different from the others that littered the screen, he didn’t recall it being there yesterday. The icon was a big, all seeing black eye against a backdrop of red and black. He never installed anything onto his phone- that was always left to Vigil, and a knew for a fact his caretaker hadn’t installed anything onto his phone in the last few days.

Tapping the icon, it opened up to some kind of search bar. A cursor flashed, prompting him to enter an input, below that were three diamond shapes with exclamation marks in them. It was clearly asking for keywords of some kind, three of them judging by the exclamation signs. Tapping the search bar, no keyboard came up. Was the input entered verbally? If so, it was a strange design.

“Young Master! Breakfast is ready!”

Hearing Vigil summons for him, he closed out of the app and turned off the device before making his way to the dining table. Setting the phone down away from him, he brushed his attention away from the strange app of unknown origin. He’d look into the app and it’s strange search capacity later.

Late ended up being his lunch break in the station’s break room. Nibbling on the lunch Vigil had prepared for the day, he opened up the strange app once more. His caretaker wasn't with him at the moment, the elder man promptly departing soon after dropping him off under the pretense he had something to attend to. Tapping a finger against the laminate surface of the table, Akechi pondered what words to enter. He’d tried a few things already, food, places, items, all verbally. And all he got in response was a monotonous voice chirping back at him that the conditions had not been met yet.

“My wife got this as a memento last summer!” one of the traffic officers was bragging to another. “A way to celebrate 10 years together and all the rest to come.”

The object in question was a simple pale chain decorated with a few glass ornaments. It was a plain, unassuming trinket that would easily fit unnoticed under the collar of a uniform; perfect for an officer of the law. The wife had clearly put some thought into what would work well as a gift for a traffic cop.

“Input accepted, calculating route.” The monotonous voice replied.

Before the young detective could properly register what was going on, reality distorted and melted away, the break room twisting into what appeared to be a hallway of some kind. The walls one made of plaster were now a slate gray, almost like concrete, as was the floor. Twisting out was the walls were long red tendrils the pulsed with an ebbing glow in the dull crimson light overhead. There was no one else in this odd place.

“You have arrived at your destination.” The voice, he now knew was coming from his phone, said, the device going dark.

He tapped the screen a few times, then hit the power button. Nothing, the screen remained dark. So, not only was he alone in this nightmarish place, but his phone was acting up.

“So, you’ve finally wandered in here,”

Turning around, he met eyes with Vigil’s piercing gaze.

“Grail did say he’d chosen you as his envoy of ruin, fitting considering you are Nyx’s vessel, being that my master almost brought upon the world the Fall,” He mused, almost sounding amused. “but, irony aside, I wonder how you will awaken to the power of persona. You are without an ego, a shell that will remain empty until you are strong enough to house Nyx.” His caretaker shrugged, uncaring and disinterested. “Well, none of the logistics mater to me, and it’s not like I have any power over what the glorified gaudy PC does, so long as his plans don’t interfear with my own, I have no qualms about any of this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vigil unironically calling Yaldabaoth PC and other things like that will most likely become a running gag, your welcome.


	3. Arrival of the Trickster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cogs of fate turn endlessly, ushering in the arrival of a trickster. Even if this fool's game is rigged in the favor of a false god, fate always has ways of evening the board.

It all happened so fast.

He’d been on his way home from cram school that evening, school bag slung over one shoulder and feeling pretty good about his math scores this time around. It was only by chance that he heard the chilling sounds of a woman calling for help and a man growling at her to “get in the damn car already!”. Running over to the source of the commotion, seeing the woman struggling in the drunkard’s grip, whimpering rather loudly as she kept screaming at the man to just let her go. The man broke his attention away from the trembling woman long enough to bark at him to go away, rambling a bit about “How everyone should just shut up and follow where I steer this country.”

It wasn’t his intention to meet eyes with the woman, but it happened; he saw the fear and anxiety in those teary brown orbs, desperately pleading for help. The small “Help me” had been all the confirmation he’d needed.

He darted over and grabbed the inebriated man by his shoulder, using only minimal force to drag him off the woman. That was all he did to the man. How the hell was he supposed to know the guy was drunk enough to not only lose his footing directly after that, but also topple over in the direction of the traffic guard. But he and the woman watched in mute horror as the man’s right temple scraped painfully against the guard, blood pouring down profusely from a patch of broken skin over his right eye.

Glaring up at him, the man snarled. “You’ll regret this.”

The wailing of police sirens alerted the trio to the presence of arriving company. Obviously, someone in once of the numerous houses on either side must have seen, or at least heard the commotion, and dialed the cops. It was then, as the man threatened and coerced the woman into silence and lies, dear crashed over him like an icy wave. When the officers arrived, not only did they seem to know the man, but they didn’t seem to care that the woman couldn’t look either of them in the eye as she did as the drunkard commanded, helping to pin the blame on him. Both of his arms were grabbed, his pleas and desperate words falling on purposefully deaf ears as he was shoved into the patrol car.

He didn’t blame the woman for what she’d done- the drunkard clearly had a level of influence if the officers had stuttered when they saw him. But it still stung.

After seeing how readily they’d believed the man who was clearly far from sober over his own words, it wasn’t surprising in the slightest that his story was disregarded. He tried, over and over again as he repeated his own testimony of the night’s events to several different detectives, and none of them believed him. Between the man’s power, and the woman’s false testimony, he was convicted of an assault he did not commit. It was a black mark on his record; he’d forever be branded a criminal.

Because he was still a minor, and because this was his first crime, his lawyer was able to keep him from being sentenced to Juvi Hall, despite how determined the prosecutor seemed to be to lock him up. A few dealings later, and the final verdict was he’d be on probation for a year, living in Toyo for the duration of it. It was better than being locked up in Juvi, but the fact he was deemed guilty still burned.

At least, though all of this, his parents had furiously defended him. They believed him, believed that he had only been trying to help, and that some rotten adult had taken advantage of the out of petty spite. Apparently, when they’d been given the news about his arrest, his mom, a thin and fragile-looking woman with just as delicate health, had nearly lost it and assaulted an officer. The only thing holding her back had been his father, as she’d screamed and let the police know just exactly she thought of them and the situation as a whole.

After the trial, he’d found his parents in a similar state of despair as himself. His mother was full-body sobbing into his father’s shoulder, slender frame shuddering with every sob. His father offered him a thin, weak smile, but his eyes were stormy and stressed.

“Sorry, Ren, we tried, we really did, but looks like our best wasn’t good enough.” His father said, letting out a tired sigh as he rubbed mom’s back. “There’s a school in Tokyo willing to take you in, and after talking with a friend of mine, we’ve found someone willing to act as your guardian for the year. None of the is ideal, but the Judge was lenient, given this was your first offense. As long as you stay on the good side of the law, you should be back home by next year.”

His parents didn’t have any relatives living in Tokyo, so sending him with a trusted stranger was the best he could do. At least a good friend of theirs could vouch for the man, claiming he was a good guy who would make sure Ren had everything he needed. He couldn’t ask for more, his parents had fought tooth and nail to see justice, and even after such a bitter defeat, not once did they get any at him for acting on his sense of justice.

The days leading up to his move to Tokyo were filled with his mother's tears as she hugged him any and every chance she got. Both he and dad knew the stress of this all would shoot her health in the foot later, hopefully, nothing too bad happened while he was away. At the very least, the arrangement would keep his new record from making life harder for his parents. His mom already couldn’t work normal jobs due to her health, and his dad had to work extra hard to support them all.

When the day finally arrived, he was seen off with a teary farewell (mom) and a weak smile (dad), as well as their shared promise to try and keep in touch.

It was a long train ride, so it was inevitable that something around him was bound to catch his attention. The pair of girls had been standing fairly close to him, and the phone screen had been in full view, the volume had even been set to a high enough level for him to overhear. Even out in the boonies, he knew the name Akechi Goro. Many girls at his school were hands of the boy detective, at was how he knew Akechi was only a year older than himself. After his debut two years ago, he was known nation-wide (maybe even worldwide) as a detective prodigy; solving some of the most heinous crimes with ease.

He’d always found the older teen to be fascinating, but for vastly different reasons than his peers and the girls whispering to each other as they watched the small news report. Whenever he saw a picture of the young detective, his mind instantly associated him with a porcelain doll. His skin was a flawless milk-white, lips ever so slightly colored a faint rosy blush, and his long butterscotch brown hair was always so glossy and sleek, even pulled into that trademark braid of his. Doll-like, yes, but what really gave him the impression of a living doll was the hollow, glassy look to his wine-colored eyes. Even when he was giving his biggest, most inviting media smiles, none of the supposed joy ever reached his eyes.

More interesting to him was the fact Akechi rarely was seen alone in the media. 9 times out of 10, the man was always at his side. The only time he wasn't attending to Akechi was during like TV talk shows. The man, simply known to the world as ‘Vigil’ (an appropriate name given how he watched over his ward like a hawk) had never been sense away from the boy, always watching Akechi with the barest hint of a smile. Something about the man was unnerving, something that was just, off. Maybe it was the odd way he talked, or the quirky way he often acted as a buffer between Akechi and the rest of the world, it made him seem less than human.

When the girls caught him staring at the phone, he looked away. All he had to do was survive the year with good behavior, and then he could return home. Twisting a lock of hair from his bangs, he wondered what would come next. If good behavior required him to look the other ways when someone was clearly suffering, he wasn't sure he could do that. He was, after all, in this situation because he refused to look the other way.

Knowing his parents, they would be furious if he sacrificed his morals simply because it was easier. Even if it ended up branding them the parents of a criminal. They were the ones who taught him to stand up for others, who showed him that evil persists when good people do nothing. He would always have an ally in them, so long as what he was doing was standing up to injustice. They would believe and support him if he somehow did end up in a juvenile correction facility.


	4. And so the Game starts.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His life wasn't his own, a fact he knew well.

No matter who you were, or how old you were, daily life was one big routine day in and day out. For people with daytime schedules, the day started early in the morning; everyone scrambling to eat breakfast before heading out to their respective institution- adults going to work while minors headed off to school, lunch was had in the middle of the day, go home after whichever social requirements one needed to attend for the day, do any last-minute tasks in the evening, eat dinner, relax for a bit, then go to bed for a rinse and repeat. For those with a nighttime schedule, it was much the same only during much different hours. Akechi’s own life was just as much a routine.

Vigil had an alarm set on his phone to wake him up for the morning. Time often became malaligned in his windowless black room, making such an alarm necessary, no matter how attuned his body was to the hours of sleep he got. Slipping out from beneath black sheets and black blankets, The plush black carpet was soft beneath his bare feet, and material making his journey from the bed to the far wall noiseless. He knew the layout of his room down perfectly, after having been confined to its four walls for a lifetime, the pitch black of the room did not inhibit him was padding quietly to the light switch and brightening up the room. The sudden shift from darkness to light no longer bothered his eyes.

On his desk, the only other bit of furniture in the room that wasn't the bed, was the outfit Vigil had chosen for the day. Stripping off his pajamas and draping them over the back of his desk chair, he changed quickly into the usual white button-up shirt and dark slacks. Vigil would acquire his sleep clothes later and wash them. Quietly exiting his room, Vigil was in the kitchen finishing up breakfast. The man flashed him a smile, just as cold and inhuman as Akechi felt inside, as he sat down and turned his attention to the wide TV. Like always, it was turned to the news. After he started working for the police, Vigil made it a part of his routine to watch the morning news before breakfast, to keep him informed of current events.

On his phone, he was browsing though articles an a news app Vigil selected, part of his attention still trained on the TV. He was just finishing up a special on a recently solved murder when the news anchor began speaking.

“Now, for a special report; yesterday, the PE teacher as Shujin academy just confessed to abusing his students.”

Abuse cases like that happened on the daily, for Akechi that wasn’t enough to fully capture his attention.

“Several days before his sudden confession, several calling cards addressed to the teacher in question had been posted and the school message board. The calling cards called the teacher out for his misconduct, as well as containing a threat proclaiming that they would ‘change his heart’ along with making him confess his sins.”

Looking up at the TV, one of the supposed ‘calling cards’ were up on screan. It was a simple red card with a cartoonish design of a mask, top hat, and toothy smile on one side, and the other containing the declaration in a newspaper word clipping-esque style. Much like the way ransom notes on TV shows are designed. The wording was childish at best, likely the work of a minor.

“Ahh, so the game had begune, eh?” Vigil chuckled. “I wonder what that glorified wine glass had in store.”

Akechi didn’t inquire about his caretaker’s odd comment, his thoughts going elsewhere. For so long, it appeared he was the only one capable of accessing the metaverse as well as wielding a persona. But now, that was no longer the case. Has these other persona users always been out there, or did their power just awaken recently?

After his awakening, and acquired Loki, Vigil had informed Shido of this development. Shido, who was already babbling into cognitive psience, was estatic to hear about this, allong with the the fact Loki granted him the abuility to destabalize a person, making them go psychotic. Shido promptly had him use this power to cripple his political opponents, and save himself for a scandle of his enemies' design. Eventually, Shido had him murdur others for his own self gain. By killing a person’s shadow, he could cause a mental shut down for that person, which often led to death. It was the perfect crime, none of it could be traced bath to him because of the metaverse.

Vigil had known this would happen, had wanted it to happen. The more he killed, the more he felt hollow- wanted to feel hollow. As guilt and shame took root inside, the more Goro wanted to stop existing. Shaping him even further into the prefect empty vessel of Nyx.

Vigil placed his breakfast down, a rice omelet today. Still looking at his phone, Goro picked up the spoon in one gloved hand and began eating.

Breakfast was tasteless, as usual. Vigil’s cooking was purposefully tasteless, a means to keep him from developing any semblance of self.

The first time he’d eaten actual tasteful food was after he’d started that food blog of ‘his’ around the time he started to become popular. It was Vigil’s idea, as always. The first thing he’d ever tasted had been pancakes. The fluffy taste coupled with the creamy melted butter and sweet maple syrup had overwhelmed his, up until then, unused taste buds. The only thing keeping him from breaking down and crying was the carefully installed conditioning frm Vigil.

Coffee had been the second thing he’d tasted, and the first drink to have flavor to him. Much like the food he was given, fluids were also carefully prepared to have no taste at all. It was why he called pancakes his favorite food, and always had at least 1 cup of coffee with his outside meals. Those flavors would always be special to him.

Vigil didn’t know this; it was a secret Akechi guarded well. Fear, he didn’t want to lose this privilege after acquiring it. If Vigil knew how taste affected him, it would be riped from his grasp.

He found his fame to be ironic. The masses fawning over him, girls cooing and squealing as if they actually knew him. There was nothing to know, what they saw and idolized was just a mask; a facade to people sated and the truth hidden. ‘Akechi Goro’ didn’t exist; it was just a temporary persona meant only to last until Nyx, the true self took over. But isn’t that the case with every pop idol and singer to gain fame? It was never the person, but an act that people adored; a falce face meant to sate the audience.

He was just a means to an end; a tool meant for others to use. Shido had used him as a bargaining chip with Nyx, and now used him as his toy hitman. Vigil used him as a means to please his master. The police used him as a means to solve crime. The masses used him as a means of obsession; something to sait their boredom with.

How something wild and unhinged like Loki came to be, he was still unsure off. Loki embodied distortion- anger, pain, spite- things Akechi was incapable of feeling. Even stranger was his metaverse attire, the black and blue garb that was some odd fusion of an old prisoner’s unform and a knight’s armor, with talloned gauntles thrown in for versatility. He was neither prisoner nor knight, but an empty container curently being used to kill.

It ultimetly didn’t matter.


	5. Pale Justce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sae's weapons of choice were resolve and logic; both deadly in her hands.

When she’d first met Akechi, Sae Nijima had mistaken him for a girl.

It had been a long day in the office- more paperwork than anything else, which she always hated- and was finally bringing a case of her to a close, one that had been dragging its heels in a stalemate with the defense for weeks. Marching grimly in the direction of the nearest coffee machine, she’d spotted the young detective conversing with a pair of cops in charge of another case she was working on, back facing her. A heavily exasperated ‘why are those ideots talking with a civilian- hell, why is she even in here at all?!’ had flashed through her mind as she changed direction towards the trio. The cops had blanched white when they’d spotted her. In Sae’s defense, the boy’s profile was very slender and feminine, and the long hair, something normally found solely on the fairer sex, was unusual. 

Needless to say, she had been more than caught off guard when the supposed girl turns around, revealing a soft face with a slightly squared jaw, offered a polite smile that actually made her feel as important as she was for once, and introduced himself properly, as a rooky detective no less.

Sae knew the name ‘Akechi Goro’, had heard it from a few passing officers in the past. She knew of the boy’s past achievements long before the media got wind of this ‘child prodigy’ and dragged his existence out into the limelight. He was a child detective much like the infamous Shirogane Naoto, and had assisted the police in solving several high profile cases, even before the influx of fame. Akechi was a polite boy who always used polite, formal language and addressed everyone with honorifics. He was rarely seen without a smile, even in private, had a dedication to his work that even put a few of the senior investigators to shame, and was very humble; never asking for fame or recognition for his hard work.

But something about the boy was off, wrong in some way that should be impossible in children.

Akechi’s politeness reminded the lady prosecutor of her younger sister, Makoto. After their father’s death, Makoto had taken her polite and kind nature and pushed it to an extreme; forcing her to be a good and perfect girl who strove to please everyone. It was her way of trying to take the stress off her sister, who was the only working adult in the house now, going so far as to take care of all the household chores on top of being student council president and an honors student. Akechi’s mannerisms were similar; always pleasing everyone but himself. 

Then there were his mannerisms. Unless spoken to, Akechi was always so quiet, making it easy to forget he was even in the room. He was quick and sharp- his deductions second to none, putting them on the same level as senior detectives. He was always watching people, pick apart words and actions, deconstructing gestures and the like as if they were jigsaw puzzles. The ease in which people forgot about him made observation all the easier for the boy. But that was it, it was as if the boy was constantly trying to take up as little space as possible. There was something fake, manufactured about his mannerisms, like a puppet on strings, or a doll sitting to look pretty for others.

On top of it all, there was something Sae noticed, something about Akechi no one else seemed to notice about him. No one, except for his caretaker, of course.

From the moment she’d first interacted with the boy, Sae had seen how the polite smile Akechi wore never reached his eyes, leaving those red orbs listless and glassy. It was as if the smiles and laughter was a mask to hide the emptiness deep inside the boy. Considering that he was rarely away from the boy’s side, and always in short intervals if he was, there was no way Bgil, the boy’s caretaker, hadn’t noticed the yawning hollowness to his ward. It was joked about often by the man, but he really was rarely away from the boy’s side to attend to his needs.

There was something unnerving about the man and how he acted around Akechi. Something inhuman. If she likened Akechi to a doll or puppet, then Vigil was the puppetmaster. He was always watching Akechi carefully, golden eyes zeroed in on his ward. And when the boy was making a decision, be it to speak up about his observations, or advise them to make an arrest, Vigil always had his hand on the boy’s shoulder at those key times, smiling without warmth.

It was almost as if the man was nurturing that hollow look while helping his young charge maintain a mask to hide it. This was how Sae, one late night after a long day at work, found herself compiling information for a possible case of abuse. When she finally realized what she was doing, the woman prosecutor groaned and closed her eyes, leaning back into her chair.

What was she even doing? She knew next to nothing about the pair’s home life, at this time she and Akechi were simply colleges. What basis did she have to claim Vigil, an albeit quirky and odd man, was abusing his ward? Vigil was always dotting on the boy, making sure his braid is tight, that he’d fed properly, that he takes time to drink water or use the restroom. None of that sounded like something he would do if he was mentally abusing the boy. It wasn’t like anyone else noticed Akechi’s lifeless eyes. Much of Vigil strange behavior could easily be explained as mother henning anyhow. There was no way she could make a case unless some absolute proof was presented that proved Vigil was in some way abusive.

Sighing, Sae picked up the case file she’d been reviewing prior to her little ‘project’. Despite her best efforts to push her worries aside, they stuck there in the back of her mind. Well, there was nothing wrong with watching out for the boy; he was her partner and a minor, after all. If anything, she could likely make a case of neglect in regards to Akechi’s parents. Not once had they been mentioned, if they were even alive, they were doing a crappy job of being in their son’s life.

“You’ll need to be extra cautious around Niijima.” The SIU Director said over the phone. “She’s noticing things, and I received words she’s stated an unofficial self-investigation of you in regards to Akechi. If you aren’t careful, she may throw a wrench in our plans.”

“Oh, director, thank you for such thoughtful concern.” Vigil replied, purring. “but the chances of that happening are less than one percent. She had no bases to accuse me of anything, and can’t prevent me from being with the young master in her presence.”

Both knew Vigil had a point, So what if Nijima was investigating, there was a reason it was an unofficial one done by herself. She lacked the definitive proof to accuse anyone of misconduct or wrongdoing. She was smart enough to keep these things to her self, to maintain a flawless reputation. Still, it would be wise to exercise caution around her, just to be careful.

“But, I will be careful around her, you have my promise on that.” The raven continued. “Now then, I trust everything is going as planned on your end?”

Vigil set the mobile phone down.

The SIU Direct had called to inform him that Kaneshiro had just turned himself in. Likely at this moment, the man was confessing his every sin to an investigator. The mobster made number three, the most recent target of the elusive phantom thieves.

Like with Madarame, Akechi had confirmed the man knew nothing of importance. Unlike with the artist, who only fueled a small counterfeit operation, Kaneshiro had been aware of the mental shutdown transactions, and his shadow would likely deduce the black masked figure that visited him not too long ago was the perpetrator. But such information would not help the thieves, considering the fat pig didn’t know who he was funneling money to, or just who was the mastermind behind it all.

He and Shido were currently making preparation to nip the problem of the thieves in the bud. They would inflate the phantom thieves’ popularity by manufacturing a threat, then when they were at the top, cut the cord and watch their fall from grace. After that, it would fall to Akechi to infiltrate their ranks and kill their leader from inside.

The stage was quickly being set, and soon all the players would have their characters. It didn’t really matter if Philemon’s apostles won or not, unless it affected lord Nayarlostep, but the chances of that were next to non-existent. His only concern was to make sure ‘Akechi Goro’ turned out into a suitable vessel for his master.

As long as that rejected Da Vici urinal didn’t harm his plans, he had no qualms about continuing to use Akechi as a weapon. Now then, how best to sus out those pesky thieve and insert Akechi into their ranks? Ah, Shujin was planing a felid trip soon; having students either go to a local ramen factory or a prominent TV studio. That studio was the one that often interviewed Akechi as a special guest. And at least part of the phantom thieves were Shujin students. Yes, that would be a suitable opportunity.


	6. Crossing Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mistake was understandable, considering he didn't even know about the cat.

On paper, a school trip to an esteemed TV studio sounded like an interesting endeavor. Keywords being ‘on paper’. Ren quickly found himself bored to tears, practically falling asleep on his feet as the PR lady droned on and on with faux enthusiasm about the most obvious aspects of the station’s production processes. Somehow, Ryuji was actually finding this interest, as scandalous as that sounded. Still, this was probably better than the ramen factory tour. 

“So, the best parts are taken from the footage in order to cut down the program to the desired length.” The woman drowned on, voice ringing with enthusiasm and wonder Ren would stake his life on was fake. “The place this filmed footage is edited would be the editing room.”

Again, the name gave it away. The names were so patly specific hear for a reason. The only reason she was doing this was filler. The studio wasn't too keen on having teenagers running around, potentially getting into trouble. At least the woman had the decency to sound enthusiastic about what she was talking about, certainly a step above what Ren was capable of.

“Hey, how much longer does this go?” Morgana asked, peering over his shoulder with a frown.

“I swear, I’m not gonna last…” Ryuji yawned, the sheer blandness of the situation finally catching up with him as well.

Morgana yelped as the bag he was in, along with Ren himself, were so rudely pushed aside by a sneering older man in a beige suit.

“What’s going on? I can’t stand this noise.” The man snapped, leering none too kindly down at the PR woman.

“Hey, assho-“ Ryuji snarled, whether in retaliation for his shove or the tone he was using was anyone’s guess.

“My apologies!” The woman stammered. The man likely had a great deal of influence here, either as a well esteemed director or newscaster. “I’ll have them leave right away!”

The woman skillfully molded her expression from submissive caution into the cheery, sunny smile she’d had on when droning on to their group, albeit this one was strained at the edges, threads of control frazzled and fraying. “Now then, it’s time for a bit of hands-on experience!”

Contented with the turn of the situation, the beige suited man left silently as clumps of students started to disperse. The man brushed pas Ren on his way out, not barreling past him this time- thank god. How the man failed to see Morgana, who’s front paws were perched on Ren’s shoulder the entire time, looking over his shoulder just as long, was some miracle.

“Damnit…” Ryuji growled. “who does that jerk think he is?”

“Hey there. You wanna be on TV?” A man in a dark blue coat leered, eyes specifically on Ann. Ren had been watching the gut for a while, he’d wandered over a little after the man in the suit had marched off to his next destination.

“Huh?” Ann balked.

“You’ve got a slammin’ bod, after all. Hehehe…” The sleezebag continued. It wasn’t helping his case any that his eyes were every but her face.

“Uh… I’m on a school trip,” She replied, hoping that would get the guy to back off.

“Just gimme a call if you’re interested. I’d greatly welcome a message from you, day or night.” The guy said, either ignoring her or just didn’t care.

“Uhhh, yeah…” Ann trailed off.

“Greatly welcome, my ass.” Ryuji hissed. “It’s obviously what he’s after. Do these rotten adults care about anything other than looks?!” His voice was seething with anger. “I’ll yank their stupid hearts out, dammit!”

“Will you quiet down?!” Morgana snapped. “You’re supposed to be acting like good students today!” He reminded them both, chastising.

The black feline ducked back into Ren’s back as an annoyed Kawakami tutted over to them.

“I understand you’re bord, but please don’t cause any trouble. OK?” she said.

“Well then, uhhh…” The slimeball said, turning his attention from Ann. “Let’s have your see what it’s like to be an AC. Oh, that stands for “assistant camera”. When we’re moving cameras, we need people who’ll get the cables from getting tangled up… The bland will do. He seems like he’s got energy to spare anyway. Guy next to him, you can come too if you’re feeling lonely. C’mon, hurry up and grab the cables!”

“Dammit… This sucks!” Ryuji bristled.

Despite his complaints. They complied with the bossy sleezer’s demanded and got to work moving the heavy ropes of cables around, trailing dutifully behind the cameras attached.

“Urghhh, what a pain in the ass!” The blond groaned, exasperated. “This is totally killin’ my vibe…”

Both boys were glad when they were done for the afternoon, finally excused from duty. Trailing behind a seething Ryuji, the pair found themselves in an empty hallway, white laminant time bleached to a bone collar under steril lights.

“I’m so pissed off!” Ryuji howled. “Aren’t we supposed to be guests? Why the hell do we hafta be doin’ manual labor?!” he seethed. “This is bullshit! Goin’ tot eh bathroom didn’t even make me feel better!”

“Quiet down, will you!” Ann snapped, walking up to them from around a corner. Her scathing expression fizzled out to something more tired and resigned. “I get how you feel though… That sucked for the both of us.”

Ryuji slummed. “We gotta do more of this tomorrow too…?” He sighed. 

“no flanking out, Ryuji.” Morgana reminded, popping back out from the back. 

“I know, I know. I gotta be a “good boy”, right?” The blond groaned in response. “Bein’ phantom thieves ain’t easy…”

“That reminds me, we get to go home straight from here today.” Ann said cheerfully, mood picking up. “We don’t spend much time in this area, so why don’t we relax and check out some shaps beforehand?”

“ooh, I know a place!” Morgana perked up. “I wanna go to that huge pancake-looking place we passed on the way here!” His voice bubbling with excitement. “It looked delicious! What was that?”

“Ohh… You mean dome Town?” Ryuji asked for clarification. “The round part is a baseball stadium, then along the outside they’ve got an amusement park.” That seemed to be the pick me up the bleach blond needed.

“It’s right in the middle of a business area, but they have some pretty hardcore rides there too.” Ann added.

“All right… Let’s go! I’ll show you just how courageous I am!” Their feline friend boasted.

“Going on a scary ride doesn’t really prove any kind of courage.” Ann rebutted. 

“Not like cats can get on anyways.” Ryuji added.

“Really…?” Morgana asked, perplexed.

“Really.” Ryuji said. “You might be able to sneak in if you stay in the bag, but you’d totally puke if you did that.” Chuckling a little at the end.

The ‘hell no’ look that crossed on Morgana’s cat-like features at the thought of losing his lunch drew a soft snort from Ren.

“But uh… Let’s just go to Dome Town! I’m really feelin’ it now.”

“Me too!” Ann agreed. “my stomach’s ready for roller coasters!”

“Uhhh… I think I’ll pass on the puke rides…” Morgana shied out.

The nearing sound of shoes against the laminate floor had Morgana ducking back into the bag. A teen, probably about their age appeared past a corner, a long intricate braid of cinnamon-colored hair dangling to about the person’s knees swishing this way and that with each step. The person, a boy upon closer inspection (it was the first time Ren had seen a male with such long hair), a shiny silver metal briefcase in the hand facing away from them. The teen paused, observing them with glassy garnet eyes than seemed to lay everything out in the open.

“Excuse me, I couldn’t help but notice your uniforms. Are you students of Shujin Academy?” The boy asked pleasantly.

Ann and Ryuji, who hadn’t notice the boy before, turned around in confusion.

“Yeah, whaddya want?” Ryuji asked civilly.

The brunette approached them, smiling sweetly. Ren easily placed the boy, he was always fascinated by how empty those eyes looked in photos, in person they were even emptier.

“I happened to be passing by, so it seemed polite to greet you. We’ll be filming together, after all.” He explained. “Ah, where are my manners? My name is Goro Akechi.”

“Akechi…?” Ann murmured under her breath. She clearly hadn’t placed the name yet, but it was familiar to her.

“Filming? What, you a celebrity?” Ryuji asked, surprised. Ren wasn’t surprised his blond friend didn’t recognize the name, considering the boy in question’s occupation.

“Hmm, something like that. I’ve appeared on TV a couple of times.” Akechi admitted. 

“Oh…!” An exclaimed softly, the boy’s identity finally clicking into place.

Akechi fulled out his phone, likely chicking the time, then returned it to his pocket. “My apologies, I truly was just passing by. I must be going.” He apologized, almost mournfully. “There’s a briefing for tomorrow’s recording that I have to attend.” 

“Oh, that’s right. You all were talking about pancakes, right? I’d personally recommend the ones from Sabira. It’s a family diner-style place.” Akechi said. “I haven’t had lunch yet, so I’m a bit hungry myself…”

This had everyone looking at the boy strangely. When did Akechi hear them talking about pancakes? Morgana had used that as a descriptor, but the word pancake was never uttered by any of the human members of their current group. And it wasn't like normal people could understand Morgana, Only those who’d visited the metaverse and seen him talk there could understand the not-cat.

“Ahh, young master!”

A man with black hair and yellow eyes, the same unnerving shade as the irises of shadows, jogged over to the brunette. He smiled mysteriously at the boy, placing a hand on the other’s shoulder to herd him off. He flashed them a slightly more human smile.

“Oh, I’m sorry if I’m interrupting something, but we really must be going.” He said. “excuse us.”

It was imposible for Ren to miss the way Akechi’s smile had turn soft and washed out the moment the other man, Vigil if he recalled, appeared. Or the way he’d fallen totally silent. The way he complied to the raven ushering him off, it was like he was a puppet having his strings pulled.

“What was that? Some start-up entertainer and his manager?” Ryuji uttered, perplexed. “not sure how popular he’s gonna get with that kind of hair though.”

“You are an idiot.” Ann deadpanned.

“Eh, it’s fine. We’ll see him again tomorrow anyways.” Ryuji reasoned. “c’mon, let’s go to Dome Town!”


	7. Mystery in Red

The very next day, the students were filed into the audience portion of the stage, decked out with plastic and metal chairs to sit on. The trio stuck close enough together to be seated right next to each other; Ren and Ann on the ends with Ryuji loosely sandwiched between them. The taping hadn’t started yet, they were on a commercial break that would last a bit longer. Ren swept his eyes over the set, so fast the final guest for the day hadn’t appeared yet. Eventually, he spotted a familiar cascade of cinnamon as Akechi and his caretaker entered into the room.

Akechi Goro was one of the few names Ren knew; a boy acclaimed as a high school detective despite not actually attending a high school, he was homeschooled. Akechi was much more alluring in person; the pictures and video recording to doing his hollow charm justice. Having seen the boy in person, even now with several dozen meters between them, Ren could acutely see the listless varnish to his eyes, what might have been a glittering garnet red was dulled into a muted maroon. The pair were talking, or more specifically; Vigil was saying something, hand tight on his ward’s shoulder as Akechi merely nodded, his smile all plastic and glitter.

Gold eyes peered into the crowd of adolescent bodies. A chill ran down his spine as Vigil’s gaze fell over where he and his friends were seated. It felt like those cold, metallic eyes were zeroing in on him. Was it his imagination, or did the man’s smile grow just a tad wider? He didn’t know why the man unnerved him so. The raven-haired man murmured something into Akechi’s ear, causing the boy in question to look over in his direction, eyes devoid of life coming to rest gently on his profile. The older boy offered him a plastic smile, the faux emotion behind it never moving past his lips.

“Akechi-san is coming on!” A veteran AD barked.

Akechi and Vigil were just at the outskirts of the set, Vigil halting just offset as his ward continued onward. As he entered the room erupted into high shrieks of joy, due to some very eager female fans. He could hear such comments like “Ooh, it’s Akechi-kun!” and “He’s so cool.”

“Ain’t that the guy from yesterday…?” Ryuji muttered.

Akechi, along with the two housts said down.

“Cutting back from commercial!” The veteran AD from earlier barked. “seven, six, five seconds till start, four, three…”

“And now, onto our “hottest meet-and-greet” segment of our show…” The woman said on cue.”After his last appearance was so well-received, we decided to bring back this fine young gentleman today. It’s the detective prince himself, Akechi Goro!”

This earned them another round of female shrieking as Akechi gave them a faux bashful look, Vigil smirking off to the side. 

“Hello there,” The brunette said politely, face schooled into a picture of inviting kindness and humble smarts.

“Thank you for taking the time to join us today, Akechi-kun. Your popularity is stunning.” The male host said.

“Even I’ve found it to be quite a surprise. It is a bit embarrassing though…” Akechi admitted shyly. The boy certainly sold himself well. If the humbleness was an act, it was a very good one.

“Moving along, we’ve been told there’s a case on your mind right now. Care to share, detective?” The female host inquired.

“Ah, yes. That would be the scandal involving the master artist, Madarame.” Akechi answered smoothly.

Ren couldn’t help the subtle twitch of his eye. Beside him, both Ryuji and Ann showed subtle signs of reaction to Akechi’s acknowledgment of their most recent target. It was still fairly recent that they’d changed Madarame’s heart, the dust was still settling. It should come as no surprise that a master detective like Akechi would jump as early as he could, but it was still impressive.

“There it is!” The male host said excitedly. “All of this phantom thief excitement has caught your attention too, Akechi-kun! Allow me to be blunt for just a second. What do you think of these justice-oriented Phantom Thieves?”

“Well, if they truly are heroes of justice, I sincerely hope they exist.” The boy detective replied.

“Ohh, so you don’t deny the possibility that they’re real?” The male host pressed coyly.

“I may not seem like it, but I sometimes wish that Santa Claus actually existed,” Akechi admitted sheepishly. “Although if he did, I’d have to arrest him for breaking and entering.”

This earned the boy detective a peel of laughter from the audience. Even Vigil’s face twitched ever so slightly as though the composed man was letting out a little snort. Even Ren found the little tease endearing in a childish sort of way, fitting with the detective’s youthful persona quite well. He might have enjoyed it more if it all didn’t seem so fake. How did everyone miss the plastic edges to all his smiles, all the forced emotion?

Beside him, Ryuji didn’t look all that amused. The bleach-blond stood on edge, like he was staring down an enemy shadow.

“But, hypothetically speaking, if these Phantom Thieves are real…” Akechi began as the laughter died down. “I believe they should be tried in a court of law.” 

Ren felt himself stiffen. Honestly, at the start, he’d been prepared for something like this, but the detective’s words had disarmed him for such suspicions. Surprised by Akechi’s suddenly harsh words, he almost missed how the detective’s caretaker shifted his eyes from Akechi and onto himself. Golden eyes bore into him, gauging the reaction of him and his friends, smirking slyly.

“That’s quite the statement. Are they committing crimes?” The male host inquired. “Some people are even saying that the Thieves are actually helping their victims abandon their evil ways.”

“What the artist Madarame did truly was an unforgivable crime.” Akechi conceded, head bowed, face veiled by cinnamon-colored bangs. “However they are taking the law into their own hands by judging him. Can that truly be called justice?” 

“It seems you have a strong opinion on the matter,” The male newscaster replied casually.

Fingers threaded together tightly, Akechi raised up his head, a hard, unreadable expression cool on his face. “The worst thing a person can do is forcefully change another person’s heart.” The boy detective declared.

“You do have a point. These people are calling themselves the Phantom Thieves, after all.” The male host agreed. “Amazing as always, Akechi-kun! I could listen to you for days! You have the most radiant charisma!”

Ryuji sneered at Akechi, not bothering to hide the hostility of his expression from anyone who might casually observe them. Ann herself wasn't doing much better, the natural blond’s head bowed to one side. Ren himself simply hummed. He kept an eye on Vigil, who was still watching them intently, smirk a thin smile that flashed teeth.

“I have to say, though, I would be embarrassed if it turns out these Phantom Thieves don’t exist.” Akechi mused slightly, returning to his cheerful and kind persona. “If that were the case, I suppose I could turn it into a report as a school project.” 

“Now then, Let’s try asking some students the same age as Akechi-kun about the Phantom Thieves!” The female host said, speaking up for the first time in a while. “Fist, please press your button now if you think the Phantom Thieves actually exist!”

“Of course they do!” Ryuji hissed.

“About 30% or so? What are your thoughts, Akechi-kun?” The male host asked.

“I’m a bit surprised. That’s higher than I was expecting.” Akechi admitted, faux surprise coloring his face. “I’d love to hear some more detailed opinions od the Phantom Thieves’ actions.”

“What are your thoughts on the Phantom Thieves?" The female host said from right next to him.

He nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise. Either he’d been so lost in the moment and his stare down with Vigil, or the woman could give his stealth a run for its money. Honsetly, either sounded like viable options. She offered him the mike, indicating it was his opinion she was prompting.

What were his thoughts on their actions? It wasn't really something he’d thought too hard on before now, believing there was no point in doing so.

“They’re justice itself.” The words left his lips with no hesitance. Ren maintained a leveled stare with Akechi as he spoke, and even after.

“You say that with such firmness.” The brunette replied, almost wistfully.

Caught up in his battle of wills with Akechi, he missed the odd smile Vigil flashed him. The raven seemed to confirm something from his words, finding some buried truth he’d never intended to reveal, not knowing that someone was even looking.

“This completely goes against the opinion you had about them being tried by law, Akechi-kun.” The male host readily pointed out.

“Indeed. It’s rather intriguing to hear such a strong acknowledgment.” Akechi agreed, one eye closed in a sly expression. “Then, I’d like to ask one more question; let’s say someone close to you, like the friend right next to you for example. If his heart suddenly changed… Would you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?”

Ren matched Akechi’s questioning stare unwavering. “Not at all.”

“I see. If they believe in justice then that wouldn’t happen.” The brunette detective interpreted. The small smile on his face almost seemed real. “It is rather interesting, that you can be so sure of that assertion.”

“But, whether the Thieves’ actions are good or not, I feel there is a more important issue at hand.” Akechi said, shifting the discussion elsewhere. 

“Hm? What do you mean?” The male host asked, a tad more seriously, as his female partner returned to the set.

Akechi turned his head to once again face the man. “The matter of how they change people’s hearts. If they truly possess that ability, then it could be used for more than extracting confessions.” He explained. “Take the runaway subway train case from this spring.”

“Eh? The man said, the honest emotion behind the surprise questionable. “Akechi-kun, are you saying the Phantom Thieves were responsible for that, too?”

From their seats, Ann worried her bottom lip in concern, next to her Ryuji bristled and muttered a dark “Screw you!” under his breath.

Akechi shook his head. “This is all purely hypothetical.” He corrected gently. “Either way, this cannot be ignored. Their existence would pose a threat to our everyday lives.”

“That sounds scary.” The male newscaster agreed.

“Of course, I’m not just looking on silently,” Akechi said, looking into the audience. “I’m already working alongside the police to help sort out this matter.” 

That bit of information fell over the three like an oppressive shadow. Madarame’s change of heart had brought with it new, and greater infamy, but at the price of higher risks. They were now recognized by the police as a potential threat, and had the assistance of the second detective prince backing them.

“Oh, it’s you again!”

Morgana ducked back into the bag as Akechi approached them, the tail of his long braid swaying like a cat’s tail. He gave Ren an inviting smile, something still plastic and painted, but much more honest than the bulk of his other expressions earlier. Vigil lingered in his spot from watching them but making no indication he would do more than that.

“I’m glad I found you. I wanted to thank you in person.” Akechi said. “To paraphrase Hegel, advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis…” 

Ren was more perplex by the fact the detective had hunted him down, rather than the fact he was quoting philosophy. Honestly, was it even surprising that the brunette could quote something like that? The boy was likely studying college level material.

“Haha, my apologies. What I mean is that our discussion was quite meaningful.” Akechi explained, misinterpreting his confusion. “Few people around me are so willing to speak their minds as freely as you did earlier. Adults are only interested in using the young, while they do as the adults say.” There was a sour not to that last part, as if it was extremely personal.

Vigil didn’t react, if he could hear his ward’s words, beyond tapping and index finger against his arm once.

“I feel like our discussions could prove quite fruitful. If you don’t mind talking with me again?”

Ren shrugged and nodded. Talking with the detective might allow some insight into the movements of the police. That, and something about the detective, with his lifeless eyes and fake smiles, interesting him. It was like a puzzle cube that intruiged him, every time he thought he was a bit closer to solving it, he found another part was present.

“I’d like that, should the opportunity arise.” He replied.

“Thank you. It makes me glad to hear that. The students from Shujin are truly interesting.”The brunette smiled softly. “I look forward to seeing you again.”

“Well then…” He said, turning to return to his caretaker.

“…Talk about a problematic guy to get involved with.” Margana muttered, emerging from Ren’s bag. “Still, there’s probably a lot we can learn from him though.”

The five of them, counting Morgana, met up at Leblanc after school. The attic space was roomy enough for everyone to fit comfortably. They were loosely crowding around the decently sized table Ren also had, one side facing the couch to release some of the need of chairs.

“We’ll need to proceed with caution around that detective, Akechi.” Morgana advised. “Despite his youth, he’s sharp. We’ll also need to be extremely cautious around that caretaker of his, too.”

“Why do you say that?” Ann asked. “The man is always with Akechi, but what makes you consider him a threat?”

“He was watching Ren the entire time of the taping, as if gauging his reactions. Also, the timing he had in the hallway the day before felt too perfect.” The feline answered. “There’s something about them, caretaker and ward, you can’t deny it.”

That reminded him of how the older man’s presence deemed to drain was little vitality there was in the detective’s eyes, back in the hallway. Little was known about the man almost always at Akechi’s side. He went by the name ‘Vigil’, and most everyone who talked with him called him polite and very agreeable. No one knew if ‘Vigil’ was actually his name, or anything about his past as a whole.

“There is also the presence of the police to think about as well. After Madarame, it seems they have finally deemed us criminals.” Yusuke spoke up. “We will have to proceed forward with extreme caution from here on out.” 

“Yusuke’s right,” Ann agreed, shooting Ryuji a pointed look.

“Hey!” the other blond yelped.

Nearly at once, Ryuji and Ann started bickering amongst themselves, as usual. At this point, devolving into arguing was the norm for those two. Their raised voices easily became a background white noise; something to stopped paying attention to after a while- like the TV. Yusuke already had his wide sketchpad and a few pencils out and was in the middle of a drawing. Despite being the newest member, he was totally unfazed to the shouting and verbal jabs exchanged between the two blonds.

Curious as to what their newest member had on his mind this time, Ren stalked up behind the artist. It was unnecessary, Yusuke always lost touch with the words once he became engrossed with his art, but habits were habits. Sharp eyes, soft smile, long braid with intricate waves that was practically for work- for whatever reason, the artist was sketching Akechi. It was likely because the detective had been the focus of their discussion just moments ago.

It was a lovely drawing, the sharp lines and soft curves doing an excellent job of bringing out Akechi’s elegant features and doing them justice. But…

“His eyes aren’t that lively.” Ren found himself saying.

Yusuke’s pencil paused as both he and Morgana gave him puzzled looks.

“Maybe it’s just me,” He admitted. “But Akechi’s eyes always strike me as dull and empty, as if there isn’t anything there.”

With the intent to prove his point, he pulled out his phone and pulled up some photos of the detective prince on the internet. Yusuke pursed his lips together, studying the pictures with the critical eye of a painter, mulling over dull garnet orbs. 

“You know, I didn’t notice it at the studio, but your right. His face might look happy, but his eyes are empty.” Morgana agreed.

“Yes, how odd. I, too, never noticed it,”

“Hmh, it makes him very doll-like.”

Who looks like what now?” Ann asked, peering over to Ren’s phone. Apparently, she and Ryuji were finally done verbally lashing each other. 

“I think I see what you mean, he does look like one of those ornamental porcelain dolls. Madarame had a few, and sometimes let me sketch them as still life practices.” Yusuke mused absentmindedly.

“Ren was just pointing out to us that Akechi’s eyes are actually very empty,” Morgana explained to the pair.

“Hu? Wait, seriously?” Ryuji sputtered in disbelief. Ren showed them the photo.

“I never noticed it until you pointed it out, but your right.” Ann agreed. 

The mystery surrounding Akechi just seemed to deepen the more you actually looked at him. Why did someone so young and so beloved have such hollow eyes? Scrolling through more photos, Ren noticed that all of the detective’s most lifeless looks were taken with Vigil around.


	8. A Mother's love, A Father's Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They believed him, they stood by him, they loved him. Ren might have had to leave against his will, but he was leaving knowing that his parents would stand by him.

His first night in Tokyo and Ren could not feel any lower. He hadn’t missed any of his trains, hadn’t gotten lost and wasted several hours trying to find Sakura-san’s place (him not being at home didn’t count), didn’t have to deal with his new guardian for the year being openly hostile with him. But it stung; this whole mess hurt like hell. You could tell there was something wrong when an honest man like Sojiro Sakura said getting sued was what you got for trying to help people. He wasn't exactly wrong, considering how the raven had gotten into this mess.

Laying flat on the makeshift bed, decent mattress over several crates, Ren let himself wallow in his misery. Maybe it would be for the best if he did as Sakura advised and lived out this year with his head low, ignoring everything around him. 

Pipipipi. Ren groped around a bit for his phone. The teen blinked. Caller ID informed him that it was his mom calling. He quickly swiped up and brought the cell to his ear. He hadn’t expected her to call so soon, but it was comforting after the shotgun talk Sakura-san had given him about good behavior. 

“Ren?” His mother asked, shyly. “Oh, honey, have are you doing?”

“Hi mom, I’m doing, fine. I’m at Sakura-san’s place, I just finished packing not too long ago.” He replied easily, his mother’s voice a cool balm to his frazled nerves.

His mother sighed, he could hear the tension draining from her body. “Good, good... Heh, if you couldn’t tell, I was worried.” He could picture the weak smile on her lips, the one she always wore when her fears were disproven. “It isn’t easy, to leave your child in the care of a stranger. I know Kagura spoke nothing but praise of the man, but it doesn’t make it any less nervewracking.”

“It’s alright to be scared, mom, it shows that you care about me.” He reminded her softly. “remember; you are strong. You get scared for others, but you never let that fear rule you. Remember when I was 6 and learning how to ride a bike? You were scared I was going to fall, and told dad that, but you let him buy me a bike, and let me try to ride it on my own. I did end up falling, several times, just like you were afraid of, but you didn’t stop me, instead you had ice ready.”

His mother had a poor constitution, it came with the territory of having poor health, but her heart was strong. Her mind was as sharp as any well-kept kitchen knife, and her soul as resilient as a mountain. She was always quick to become worried, to the point of paranoia, but unlike others who let that fear rule them, his mother instead was always prepared for anything. 

“Heh, it’s both a mother’s duty to protect as well as nurture, and sometimes to nurture her child, she has to let him fall several hundred times off his bike and then aply ice to his scrapes.” She quiped in good humor. “smothering kids out of fear doesn’t let them grow to their full potential.”

“Now then, tell me about Sojiro Sakura so I can finally stop worrying.” His mother said, shifting the conversation.

“He’s a good man, a little rough, and more than a little sarcastic, but there’s something gentle about him. He own’s a place called Le Blanc, a café that surces both coffee and curry, the place smells simply devine I might add.” His mother chuckled at that. “He’s having me stay in the attic, I had to clean the space myself, but it’s roomy. He he doesn’t seem to rush his patrons. He might complain about them spending 4 hours on a single cup, but only after they’ve left for home.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure I like hearing you’re alone in an attic, but you’re a teenage boy, it’s likely the best place for you.” His mother hummed. “but, he sounds like a good man, someone I would get along just fine with.”

“I second that, you could teach him your secret to the perfect cup of hot chocolate, help him expand the menu.”Ren paused. “hell, maybe you and him should partner up.”

His mother howled with laughter for a moment. “My hot chocolate isn’t that good,”

“I bed to differ,”

His mother snorted, always amused by his affectionate antics. “Alright, alright, anything else?”

Ren felt his mood crash, he might as well let her know. “He did give me a warning to be on my best behaviour, reminding me of the situation I’m in, being on probation and all.” His voice was a little softer than he’d meant it to be.

“I suppose that’s understandable, probation and assault are not minor things,” His mother replied slowly. She noticed his drop in cheer, she always noticed. “but, Ren, your father and I love you, now and forever. And if you end up in a situation where you either have to tun a blind or risk getting in trouble, neither of us wants you to sacrifice your morals. We will understand, and there wll always be a place in our home for you. No parent, no matter what, should ever ask their child to sacrifice convictions for the sake of reputation.

“…Thanks, mom, I really needed to hear that.” He replied softly. “I want you to know, I don’t regret helping that woman, and, I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve put you through, put you both through.”

His mother clicked her tongue. “Ren, you have nothing to be sorry for, if that bastard who sued you who should be sorry. Your father and I are stronger than you’re giving us credit for, if someone dares talk bad about you, I’ll kick them in the ass.” His mother promised darkly. “With stilettos on.”

And oh boy would she do that in spades. Mama Amamiya was one terrifying momma bear when she wanted to be.

It was the evening after making the deal with Morgana and solidifying the plan to change Kamoshida’s heart. He was glad to have met Ryuji, despite his callous act, the boy was one big Doberman at heart; all friendly and excitable, and protective. Sojiro was fine with Morgana living in the attic with him, warming up to the ‘cat’ rather quickly.

The raven had just finished doing some light cleaning, a bit of dusting here, some reorganizing things around on the shelves, moving the tools and his workbench around to better fit his needs. Things that made the space more presentable and inviting. The self-proclaimed not-cat was curled up on his bed. As Ren sat down to join him, the telltale cheeping of his phone informed him someone was calling.

He was more than a little surprised to see his father calling. The man worked long hours at a job that was both physically and mentally demanding at all times, it was how mom’s medical bills got paid on time. Judging by the time, his dad must have just gotten home.

“Hey dad.” He greeted, clicking the phone to speaker. “Margana’s ears twitched, the black feline lifting up his head.

“Hey Ren, sorry if I’m calling at a bad time,” His dad replied sheepishly.

“Dad, it’s not that late here, besides I’m,” He looked at the time again” pretty sure you just got home from work, right? Dad, how are you still fluent? Are you not ready to be dead to the world?”

“Meh, ‘m used to it.” His father replied, Ren could picture the slight shrug of his shoulders. “and yeh, I want to sleep, but you’d be at school if I waited until tomorrow to call

The raven shook his head. “Dead, you are unbelievable.”

“Oh? You’re only now realizing this? Ren, you had to get it from somewhere, and we both know it wasn’t from your mother.” His father jabbed back.

Both shared a joint small laugh. With his mother being unable to work reliably due to her health, it had fallen to his father to be the provider, having to work harder than most to support a wife with acute medical needs and a family of three as a whole. The harsh workload and demanding job left his father tired at home more often than not, but that hadn’t stopped the man from finding time for his family. Even if it required him to work dubious hours (like 24-hours workdays), his dad always took time off for important things like birthdays and parent-teacher meetings. Things that ensured Ren knew just how much both parents loved him.

“So, how’s life been treating you?” His dad asked. “is everything at school going well?

“Well, school, okay I guess. I made a friend on my first day, he’s one of the local ‘problem kids’, you know, the kind who bleach their hair blond and don’t follow the dress code to the t.”

“Heh, and let me guess; this kid’s more than a delinquent punk. You know what I always say- the reason some kid’s a problem is ‘cause the adults around him are doing a crappy job.” His dad grunted. “Well, good things he’s your friend now, I know you’ll be there for him come hell or high water.”

Heh, and he’ll do the same for me…” I’m not sure if Boss told you yet or not, but I was late for my first day of class, and I mean it was fourth period when I finally got there. I wasn't actively trying to skip, some things, just happened.”

“Stuff related to that new friend of yours?”

“Yes and no. I’m pretty sure I’m now on the guidance counselor's blacklist.”

“Following in your mom’s footsteps eh? Try not to miss too much school, or else she’ll blame herself.”

“Dad!”

There was a nostalgic feel to the flow of their banter. He always felt comfortable around both of his parents; that he was always free to be himself and nothing more. His parents had expectations fo him, who didn’t, but they never let those expectations become a burden. They wanted him happy first, smart second. It was a lot more than he could say about other parents.

Honestly, he was still so grainful that they believed his side of the story, even when no one else did. How woul things have turned out if they hadn’t believed him? Likely the relationship between parents and sone would be much more strained. And the feleaif he’d felt when Ryuji belived him much greater.

He had talked to mom about it, but he wanted to hear his dad say it too. “Dad, you wouldn’t just turn a blind eye to people suffering, and wouldn’t ask me to do the same, right?”

“No, Ren, and I know for a fact you’re mother’s told you the same.”

“Even, if the bastard is a well-respected teacher?”

“Especially if he’s some big shot with an ego. Power does not justify being a dick, it actually makes you a bigger dick.” His dad paused. “and not the good kind ‘a dick, either!”

“You always know just what to say.”

“Thanks, it’s right in the job description, next to ‘kick-ass for better results’, I think.”

The two of them talked for a little longer, father telling son about life back home, and vice versa. Ren was finally able to pressure his father into hanging up, reminding the man he had work bright and early. It ended with a mutually exchanged “good night, Ren ending the call first to ensure his dad hit the hay at a decent hour. Hopefully, their chat wouldn’t leave his father as the walking dead the next morning.

“…Your dad seems like a really nice guy.” Morgana pointed out. “and I’m sure you’re mom’s just as nice.

“Yeah, I’m lucky to have both him and mom as parents. They believed in my innocence, still do,” He hummed. “if I told them about Kamoshida, and what they did to Suzui, mom would literally martch on over here and kick him in the ass, with heels on,”  
“I was wondering what kind of parents ship their child off to live with total strangers, but it seems my fears are unfounded.”

There was a nostalgic, wistful look on the other’s face, complicated emotions raging just beneath the surface. It reminded him that Morgana didn’t have any memories of before he’d become a cat. He didn’t remember what his mom or dad were like, of what kind of sone he’d been to them. For all he knew, they were dead. Or they had forgotten him.

“They’re out there, waiting,” Ren said, voice firm with conviction. “when you finally get your memories back, and your human body, they’ll be there waiting.”

“…Thanks, I know they are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, Ren's parents would adopt all of the thieves if they could, along with Ryuiji's mom and Sojiro and Ann's family, oh, and Sae too. Also, Ren mama totally would come to Tokyo just to kick people in the ass for messing with her son and his friends. Writing them will be so much fun.


	9. Cafe Leblanc

Maybe, in a different world, one where he was allowed to be some semblance of normal, he might have felt giddy as he approached the weather-teased door to the back-alley café. For once, Akechi was truly and completely alone. This wasn’t the first time he’d been without Vigil, but it was the first he was out in public without his caretaker. It was, strange, not having the raven looming over his shoulder, a firm hand on him as he watched each and every moment with unreadable yellow eyes. Vigil had deemed it best to have him interact with the Amamiya boy alone, at least while they both where in the café. The address had been easy enough to acquire from Sae, the woman supposedly frequented the café.

The owner, Sakura Sojiro, was also a close confidant of Ishiki Wakaba, as well as the guardian of her orphaned daughter, Futaba. Akechi was aware Sae had been hounding the man for any information on Ishiki’s cognitive Psience research, hoping to find answers to her questions on the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. From what Vigil had mentioned off-hand about the research, apperently the woman had learned quite a bit of acurat information about the cognative world, and the shadows’ relation to humans.

Also, Sae said the owner served some of the best coffee in the city, and for cheap. Akechi couldn’t exactly say he wasn’t eager to see just how true that claim was. The drink was special to him, just as pancakes were.

A small bell jingled softly from the door’s iner top corner as he pushed it open, an easy and effective way to annonce when someone was coming or going. There were a few people in the café; in one of the booths, an elderly couple were enjoying a cup of coffee (the man), and a plate of curry (the woman. In another booth, a man dressed in business casual was enjoying a cup of coffee as well. Taking a seat at the bar, the one right in front of Amamiya, he placed his aluminum cachet case on the counter and offered Sakura one of his golden smiles.

“Greetings, I’ll have a house blend, if that’s alright.” He asked politly. 

Sakura sojiro broke out of the light stupor he’d been in and nodded. With the older man engored in preparing the coffee, he and Amamiya were in a sence left alone. Amamiya peered at him from behind a curtain of currly raven locks and thick glass lenses, as if observing him too see how much of a threat he was. He smiled politly at the boy, but that didn’t seem to make the other boy any less guarded. Odd, was Amamiya normally this guarded around others?

“Ahh, hello again,” He greeted kindly. “I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon, what a curious turn of events.” It was a lie, he’d come to Leblanc exactly for that reason. He knew the boy was under probation for a year, and was in Sakura’s care for the time. “I heard about the coffee hear from Sae-san, she told me that Sakura-san knew how to make a divine cup, so I thought I’d taste for myself how good the coffee here is.”

His attempt at starting a conversation was met with silence, Amamiya only giving him a curt nod. Was he shy? Akechi was good at reading people to solve crimes, but he lacked people skills. Thankfully, before the air between them became tense and awkward, Sakura placed a simple cup and soucer down in front of him. The sift, fragrant aroma of honest to god coffee, not the cheap grounds the station had (or the tastless heat vigil brewed) wafted up from the cup. Forgoing cream or sugar for his first cup, he took the handle to delicatly in one gloved hand and rased the rim to his lips.

As sad at it was, coffee was his first flavor, pancakes his second, and the contents of the cup more than did the drink justice. The drink was just bitter enough that it didn’t completely overwhelm the pallet as it complimented the fruity and nutty flavors, making them pop out more. He savored the small sip a moment as he placed the cup back into its saucer.

“Delicious,” He breaathed. “truly the work of a master. The bitterness helped bring out and enhance the nutty and fruity flavors, and the slight sour undertone made the natural sweetness of the brue stand out more.”

He noted the way Sakura raised an eyebrow, impressed. The man clearly took pride in his work, something Akechi could never relate to. 

“I can truly understand why Sae-san likes this place so much, I’ve just about fallen in love with the coffee here,” He added.

Empty words and falce sentimat. He was incapable of love, or any form of affection, really. The seeds of emption had been choaked out by isolation and conditioning many years ago, long before they could bloom in his heart. Along with any hope of an identity, of an ego taking shape. That was his existence, and there was no hope of him ever becoming anything more.

He continued to sip at the coffee, savoring every little drop as if it might be his last. He would never do this in front of Vigil, the man would ‘scold’ him. He would likely never be allowed to drink coffee ever again, as such he resolved to never let his caretaker know. It was a good thing there was no plan for Vigil to ever visit Leblanc.

“Hmm, you must really like boss’s coffee.” Amamiya said offhandedly, chif resting in his hands. “I’ve never seen anyone cry over coffee before.”

He brushed the tip of a finger aganst the corner of one eye. Sure enough, the tiniest bead of moisture had formed, the same with the other eye. It was an exageration to call it crying, but such an expresion of emotion should be as impossible as snow in death valley. Why was this heppening? Vigil had stolen away his tears, along with any emotions to cry through.

“Un, I supose Sakura-san’s coffee is just that good, it brought me to tears,” He replied jokingly.

Outside, his face was composed and unwavering, but, inside, Akechi was shaking and scared.

Ren watched as Akechi retreated from the café, his fuzzy silhoet slipping from the mosaic colored glass. The older boy had clearly been shaken by the sudden act of emotion. His face had been calm, but those empty eyes of his had been scared and startled by the reaction to Boss’s coffee. Crying, or coming close to it in this case, wasn’t a normal reaction to Sakura Sojiro’s coffee blends. But, as Akechi had taken that first sip of the hot brew and savored the taste, something that might have been the sparks of life had flashed in the glassy depths of his maroon eyes.

That had been the closest thing to genuine emotion from the detective. And it had been brought about by a cup of coffee… Alas, there was no punchline.

“Hu, good to know Akechi had good tasts, I wonder if he likes sushi?” Morgana meowed, washing his face.

The black feline had wisely chosen to keep himself hidden while Akechi had been inside the café. Both had bee caught off guard by the brunette’s sudden arrival to the café, and worried. There was a chance, and a good one at that, that the young detective had been sent to investigate Ren.

“Next time he’s here, let’s have me talk,” The black cat schemed. “I’ll be hidden, of course, that way we can be certain if he can understand me or not.”

Ren nodded.

There was some linger doubts on weather Akechi had truly heard Morgana speak at the TV station, or he had just gotten lucky. The cat had been the only one to utter the word pancake, all human memebers talking about Dome Town by name. Still, it was possible he’d just misheard someone and mistaken the conversation as pancake related.

“I hope Vigil doesn’t come with him,” Ren found himself thinking aloud.

“Why?”

“Something about the man just isn’t human,” He shrugged. “besides, there was a reason Akechi was saken over emoting at all. I don’t think he would normally do that, especially around his caretaker. And, I don’t think the latter would just let it slip, either.”

If Akechi was a mystery, then Vigil was a god damn enigma. He acted like a puppetmaster, and seemed to be the root cause of Akechi’s constant emptiness. There was also the way he’d watched Ren at the TV station the entire time.

“Also, his timeing was just too perfect, when he intrupted out talk with Akechi.”


	10. Threads of Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Try is hard as you like, Trickster of Philemon, but years of emptiness are not so easy to undo.

The bathwater was boiling against his skin, the steam created a stifling warm fog that was damp and choaking up aganst his face and collar. Vigil’s hands, deft and skilled after over a decade and a half of repetition, glided the soapy rag over his skin, the day’s sweat and grime (and blood, there was always blood, always unseen) rubbed free of his milky skin flushed a pale cherry red. For as long as he could remember (and likely for his entire life), Akechi had never bathed himself, it was always done by Vigil. In fact, there was very little his caretaker allowed him to do himself. This near-total dependency left the brunette a living doll, the exact outcome Vigil desired. By preventing him from attending to his own needs, Vigil could effectively snuff out ego and individuality at any turn.

All of him; his body, his soul, everything about him belonged to Nyx.

The first time he’d killed someone, Vigil had held his wrists steady in both hands, keeping them steady as well as showing him the correct posture for shooting. It didn’t matter what he wanted, he was nothing more than an empty vessel that only had to do as he was told. Staring into the shadow’s pleading yellow eye, hearing Vigil murmur into his ear to shoot her, eventually the struggle one out in Vigil’s favor, and Akechi reluctantly squeezed the trigger. The woman’s last words as his eyes rolled back and her body died, “Futaba I-“, were the chorus to his nightmares. Ishiki Wakaba had died by his hands, as did several others in the years following.

That same evening, when everything finished sinking in, and the shock of the kill finally wore off, Vigil had been forced to restrain him. It was the only way the raven had kept him from clawing and chewing his hands and arms into a bloody mess. He was denied even self-destruction. To stymie such habits, and to keep him from scaring his skin, or chewing his lip unto oblivion, Vigil used chemical restraints, forcing drugs down his throat that left his body paralyzed for hours on end until he was deemed no longer a danger to himself.

Just as Vigil had so desired, the pain of guilt festered in his mind like a tainted wound; eating and eroding away at whatever there was to consume and destroy in his mind. Now, he gladly awaited Nyx’s return; when the god finally replaced him as the owner of this body, he would no longer exist. Only then would he finally be free of Vigil and the pain.

The last of the soap was rinsed from his skin, followed by the conditioner. Obediently, Akechi tipped his head back, hot water worked through cinnamon locks to clean his hair of any remaining product. When he was thoroughly clean, Vigil helped him out of the opaque water, wrapping a fluffy towel around his body the moment both feet were on the plush bath mat. Excess water wrung from his hair before his caretaker got to work drying his body. When he was sufficiently dry, Vigil pulled the stopper from the tub and darted out of the room, leaving him alone to dress himself in the nigh clothes left folded on the vanity. Working quickly and efficiently, Akechi was ready by the time Vigil reappeared, holding out an unassuming glass of water.

The cup didn’t hold plain tap water, or even normal filtered water. No, Akechi was well aware that a sleeping aid had been added beforehand, as it always was. The guild and shame left his sleeping moments a hell of nightmares, the sleeping aid presented him from waking, and somehow allowed him to be fully rested when he was awoken by his alarm. Downing the water in two gulps, he handed the glass back to his caretaker. He was swiftly guided to his room and tucked tightly into bed, the shadows closing in on him from all sides when he was finally left alone.

Aided by the drug, Akechi let his heavy lids flutter shut as sleep took him. Surprisingly, neither dreams nor nightmares invaded his resting subconscious.

So far, everything was proceeding as desired. ‘Akechi Goro’ was a living doll that was merely fooling the world into thinking there was an actual person in his place. Between his careful conditioning, and the guilt of murder, there was nothing in the boy that would prevent master Nyx from taking over when the time finally came. In fact, the boy himself awaited the moment he would stop existing.

So, then, what was this knawing worry in the back of his mind?

He had no reason whatsoever to believe the boy would be anything less than totally compliant. He knew for a fact that damn wine cup wouldn’t stand in his way, The grail only needed a pawn to usher in ruin, and Akechi had delivered in sades. In fact, killing had emptied the boy more than even he had anticipated. A thorn of concern stubbornly continued to jab into his side, whispering doubts that his plan would go as easily and smoothly as he thought it would.

He knew where the doubts and concerns originated from. It was the near happiness he sometimes saw on the young master’s face when returning from Leblanc. Rarely, he might even see a spark of fragile life buried in the depths of glassy wine red. All of it was gone the moment he took his eyes of Akechi. The fact that any semblance of life appearing in the first place was startling, but…

Years, a lifetime really, of painstakingly careful groom and sedition, of near-constant isolation, and the clawing guilt. Those were not easily cast aside, even by an hour of warmth and kindness. Philemon’s pawns were tenacious, but there was nothing to fret over, as long as Akechi returned to him at the day’s end, any work of that trickster could easily be undone.

Besides, soon enough the group calling themselves The Phantoms would be a fleeting memory soon enough. So what if their leader was trying to breathe life back into an empty vessel, the dead can’t save anyone in the end, now can they?

“He’s starting to look a little livelier,” Morgana observed.

“Yeah, that laugh almost sounded genuine,” Ren agreed.

Akechi had quickly become something of a regular at Leblanc. He only ever ordered coffee, but a few times now either Boss or himself had given the teen detective a complimentary plate of the café’s famous curry. It hadn’t brought the boy close to tears like Sojiro’s coffee had, but ren had seen the way Akwchi had brightened while savoring the mild flavors. It was the closest thing to alive the detective ever was.

They had confirmed he was a persona user, or was able to at the very least enter the metaverse and had seen them somewhere in the past. The second time he’d been there, he and Morgana had implemented the latter's plan. Ren had his phone out, and acted as if he was talking with someone (Morgana) over the speaker.

Just as anticipated, Akechi comments on the feline’s words, revealing unintentionally that he could understand their supposedly human friend. After that, Morgana took care to never speak around the detective. Now that they knew there was more to Akechi then simply looks and smarts, the next logical step was to acquire information from him unknowing.

That plan had somehow evolved to include trying to spark actual life in the brunette.

“Hmm, so far we’ve gotten nothing from him, but I really do think he’s a persona user,” Morgana meowed.

“Think he’s the black-masked person Maderame and Kaneshiro mentioned?”

“If not out supposed hitman himself, there’s a good chance he’s related to the other somehow. It’s odd that we’ve never seen either before. Mementos is big, but it isn’t that big.”

“…The only thing I can’t figure out is Akechi’s motive. Why cause so much havoc using the metaverse in the first place? What does he hope to gain?”

“Honestly, in all likelihood, there’s probably someone standing above Akechi, the true mastermind who's benefiting from his actions.” Morgana replied thoughtfully. “and, I know for a fact that person isn’t Vigil.”

“What do you mean?”

“Vigil might be the one grooming him to be empty, but his doesn’t benefit from the chaos, no, there’s someone else. Someone who gains the most from mental shutdowns and people going psychotic.


	11. Guilty Pleasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even if it meant ruining everything in the end, he refused to give up the warmth he'd found there.

The bullet tore through the cavity of the sobbing shadow Kumikazu Okumura’s chest, spray the ground with blood and bits of metal and gore. 

“Ha-ru- I-‘m sor-ry,” His dying breath was a broken prayer gasped between his final breath.

It had been child’s play to wait until the thieves had beaten Okumur’s shadow, and then execute him after they had made their hurried escape. It had likely never occurred to them they might be followed, never occurred to them that a shadow could still be killed even after the treasure was stolen. With the job now done, Shido and his conspiracy were now safe from the law, and the thieves would soon fall from grace.

A second shot to the back of the head finished the shadow off, turning the corpse to black ash like all the rest. Numbly he stood there, glassy eyes staring into the place shadow Okumura was once sprawled across, drying and chocking on his own blood. Another new weight around his neck to drag him down, another person – parent – dead to feed the guilt a little more. Even at the start, 2 years ago, he had been too numb to cry, but he had still grieved the death of the mother. Back then, each kill had been a bloody gash, now, it was just another tally to the growing list of corpses staring back at him.

What would Amamiya think if he could see him at this moment? Would the raven be utterly disgusted with what he was, or would the boy pity him for having his choices taken- stolen away before his birth? Akechi wasn’t sure why he asked himself this question. The habit had started soon after his visits to Leblanc became a regular occurrence. The café’s calm and quiet atmosphere, the warm smell of coffee, each cup hand-ground, and hand brud. Sakura’s wistful smirk, liberating smiles, and heavenly laughs shared in the secret serenity. It wasn’t real- it couldn’t be real. He kept repeating those words in his head every time he left the small café.

But, if it was all pretend, why did he hide this fake happiness of his from Vigil?

…It, didn’t matter.

With Oukumura Kunikazu’s coming mental shutdown and subsequent death, the thieves would be branded killers by the very public that once praised the ground they walked. Because of the CEO’s decision to take the calling card to the police, everyone in Tokyo know he was the thieves’ next target. It would only be natural for the public to assume the thieves which had targeted Okumura were also to culprits behind his subsequent death on public TV.

After that, he would pretend to belive the thieves were innocent and infiltrate their ranks, leading them to Sae’s palace. From there, Amamiya Ren, a.k.a Joker’s death was all but assured. Exiting the crumbling palace, Akechi ignored the way his hands trembled at the thought of pointing a gun at Amamiya. The thought of Amamiya Ren, grey eyes lifeless and body broken and limp, why did it make his chest hurt so?

He had killed so many others without a second thought- had just killed a man not even 30 seconds ago! He was an empty vessel, so where was all this hesitation coming from? Shaking his head, the brunette sighed. Right now, it didn’t matter. His top priority at the moment was to get home and inform Vigil that the plan was progressing as intended.

It was well past sunset when Akechi arrived back at the penthouse apartment, Vigil was already waiting for him in the lobby. He gave his yellow-eyed caretaker a small nod and let himself be guided to an elevator and returned to the apartment.  
“Young master, is there by chance something you wish to inform me of?” vigil asked, shepherding him into the living room.

Nothing he wanted to tell the man, but there were many important things he was keeping. “No.”

If Vigil was aware he was keeping secret, the man chose to keep that tp himself. He didn’t press on the matter, instead, he let them slip into silence. For some strange, inexplicable reason, Akechi did not want Vigil to know that he was visiting Leblanc for more than just espionage. The older Raven needed to stay in the dark as to the warmth he felt in the establishment, especially around Amamiya. He especially couldn’t let Vigil know about the hesitation he was feeling, at the idea of killing Amamiya himself, in the real world.

If vigil ever were to learn about all of this, He would rob it from Akechi without a second thought. He would crush these budding emotions under a heavy heel, never let him anywhere near Leblanc or Amamiya, and likely never let him out of his sight ever again. Those moments at Leblanc, when it felt like just Amamiya and himself, were what he treasured most. Those memories were the only things making this empty, repetitive life of his bearable.

Their battles of whit and exchanges of words make it feel like ‘Akechi Goro’ actually existed, as if there was more to him than the mask he wore to fool the masses. It wasn’t enough to make him actually want to live, Akechi was still whole ready to die and let Nyx have his body. But it was liberating enough to know there was someone who helped him believe he was more than an empty vessel.

The bland food and tasteless drink Vigil set down in front of him had Akechi longing for a cup of Akura-san’s coffee, and maybe also a plate of Leblanc’s famous curry. His face remained blank despite the small longing, just as easily as she flashed a winning smile on his most hollow of days.

“You are a fascinating person, Akechi-kun,” Amamiya said randomly, moving his pawn forward.

“How flattering, thank you. And I find you just as interesting, myself,” He replied kindly, offering a smile. 

“I find it very fascinating how someone only a little older than myself can be so hollow inside,” The raven continued, eyes zeroing in on his opponent. Akechi felt himself flinch inwardly, it was like Amamiya could see right through his mask. “and hide it so well while also being a minor celebrity. I suppose if I couldn’t see your eyes, I would have never known, it’s your eyes that give you away,”

The grip on his bishop tightened ever so slightly as dread sunk it’s icy fangs into his neck. How was this boy seeing though the mask he’s so carefully crafted under Vigil’s careful eye?

“Amamiya-kun, I’m sorry, but your humor is quite strange,” He replied with a forced chuckle. “me, empty? You should really be careful with what you joke about.”

The younger boy saw right through his hasty lie, lips quirking into a knowing smirk. “Really? Then why is your hand shaking?”

“What?

Glancing at his outstretched hand, it was indeed trembling, it was a slight tremor, though. So slight, that unless you were actually looking for it, you’d most likely miss it, and even then you likely needed a trained eye to see it the first time. His eyes were far from untrained, thanks to years of detective work. And, it seemed, so were Amaiyas’ as well.

Amamiya was truly a force to be reckoned with, if his sharp grey eyes were able to see through him so easily.

“And, I do believe that is checkmate,” Amamiya chuckled coyly.

…Indeed. Somewhere between getting lost in his own panicked thoughts and how, he’d made a few choice blunders that had allowed Amamiya’s knight and green slip though. 

“Yes indeed, it seems you’ve finally bested me,” He agreed warmly. It was fake praise, just like everything else about him. “you’re improved a great deal, soon you won’t need to distract me to win.”

“Oh, I didn’t intend to distract you,” Amamiya replied. “I was just curious to see how you’d react, to being called out.”

“Young master… is something bothering you? Vigil inquired.

Akechi pondered his choices as he finished his drink. Did he risk it and tell Vigil that Amamiya was on to him, that the raven could see through his facade? It was likely the best thing to do, come clean to his caretaker, inform the raven of how dangerous the phantom thieves’ leader had now become. But, if he did that, the warmth of Leblanc and Amamiya’s inviting presence would be lost to him forever.

Give Vigil potentially vital information that could make or break their plan, or hold his silence? In the end, the core of the matter was how much he valued his time spent in the cozy back-ally café. And how dearly he treasured hit time spent playing game after game of chess with the boy he would soon kill.

“…No, I’m fine,” He answered monotonously, setting his glass down

“Alright,”

It wasn’t a lie per say, bu a ‘small’ omission of the whole truth. The first he’d done in all 17 years of life. He’d decided, even if it meant everything fell apart in the end, that Leblanc and Amamiya were too precious a treasure to give up.


	12. Confirm or Denia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The genius are often very ditzy. That's the saying, right?

“Akechi, Akechi, Akechi…”

Akechi, Akechi, A- oh! This one’s for a famus singer… and the one after is Akechi…”

“What the eff mab?! The only reason they’re sayin those things is ‘cause the forum’s anonymous!”

Ren watched as Makoto’s left eye twitched, nothing more than a slight twinge of the mucle, but it was the only part of her face that drifted out of her presidential mask of calm and collected nutrality.

“U-um, this one says ‘Risette' on it!” Ann said, shaving the paper slip into the older girl’s hand.

“Yeah, and this pile all says Akechi,” Ryuji muttered darkly.

The guest speaker was a big event at Shujin academy's culture festival. It was essentially a large pannel with students asking the speaker, who was decided on by majority vote, several questions for about an hour or so. Just about anyone could hold the position, given they both recited the vote and agreed to speak. Ren was whole unsurprised everyone was voting for Akechi Goro, all things considered, he was a likely choice. The detective was popular with both the male and female students (for strikingly different reasons- in most cases), and that popularity had only increased 3 fold after his return to grace thanks to Okumura’s death and the shift in public opinion on the Phantom Thieves.

By the exasperated look on her face, Makoto didn’t seem surprised by his landslide win either. Ann and Ryuji, however, actually seemed surprised by this development. Ann even seemed impressed.

“Seriously? How the hell did that bastard get so freaking popular?!” Ryuji cried, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Seriously?” Ann said flatly. “You are seriously asking how a pretty boy detective our age got popular?”

“Lady Ann is right, Akechi is very popular with the student body, so it is no surprise they’d vote for him.” Morgana agreed.

Makoto shook her head. “Regardless, the student pick for this year’s guest speaker is Akechi Goro, it can’t be helped.”

“Do we really have to ask him to come?” Ann asked. “It’s risky,”

“I know it is, but, as student council president, I am obligated to ask, considering he was the winner,” Makoto replied, sighing. Unless he declines- and there is a chance of him doing so- he will be Shujin’s guest speaker this year.”

“This bites!” Ryuji groaned.

“Ryuji, this isn’t the end of the world as we know it,” Ren chided his best friend. “besides, this might work in our favor. It could be our golden chance to siphon information out of him, find out how much he knows.”

“Ren is right, we can no longer rely on Makoto’s sister for information on the police, something we desperately need if we are to continue moving forward safely.” Morgana pointed out. “also, if Akechi does turn out to be black-mask, we need to learn everything we can about his powers. We know too litte.”

“Uhh, wouldn’t he just have a persona doing all the hard work?” Ryuji pointed out. “if he’s Black Mask, what’s there to know?”

Both Morgana and Makoto shared a collective sigh.

“Ryuji, listen close, we don’t know what Akechi’s persona looks like, or what skills it has,” Ann explained. “we also don’t know what elements it resists or what it’s weaknesses are.”

“More than that, it’s almost certain black mask is working for someone else, we need to learn who this person is and what the motivation behind their hits are,” Makoto added.

“Then there’re how he does it. We know mental shutdowns are caused by killing a person’s shadow, but how does Black Mask cause the psychotic breakdowns? Is it like changing a person’s heart, or is there another factor to think about?” Morgana finished. “actually, for all we know black mask might be a wild card like our leader, and have access to multiple personas.”

“We’re screwed if that’s the case!” Ryuji groaned. “all he’d need to do is swap between em’ like Ren does, and we’ll never know what does what!”

“Which, is why we learn as much as we can from him.” Morgana reminded. “we don’t know much about him, but the same can be said about him. He might not even know our identities ye, however unlikely that sounds.”

“And, even if he does know, he’ll have no reason to think we suspect him,” Ren concluded.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Ren left for Leblanc with the promise of talking to Akechi if the detective was at the café. Opening the door, he found the detective in his usual spot at the bar, sipping at coffee while looking over form papers. Akechi hadn’t acknowledged him yet. Morgana took the opportunity to burrow into Ren’s school bag to hide from sharp, glassy garnet eyes.

Ren had other plans. Messing with the detective had become a pass time, and this was a golden opportunity.

“Honey, I’m home.” He said, making his way to the older boy.

The detective gave him a quizzical look. “Welcome back, you’re home awful late.” 

“Really? I thought I made it back just in time for dinner.”

Sojiro, already numb to his wild antics around the brunette, ignored him beyond rolling his eyes. As long as the faux flirting between the pair didn’t disturb other patrons, the older man didn’t give a damn what the two said to each other. Ren could probably unironically propose to Akechi, and Sojiro wouldn’t even bat an eye.

“…I received a call from your student council president, Sae-san’s sister if I remember,” Akechi said. “She asked if I was will to be a guest speaker at your school’s culture festival.”

“Ah, right, you were chosen by majority vote, I remember because I helped her count them all.” He replied casually. “it was a landslide victory, if I remember. So, what are you going to so, mister detective?”

With that, the ball was in Akechi’s court.

“… I’m planning on going, if all goes well. I was busy yesterday, but I intend to call her back when I get home and give her my answer.” Akechi chuckled. “good thing I’ve decided to limit my media appearances, there’s no way I would have had the time otherwise.”

“…Glad to hear, I’ll be looking forward to it."

“Now then, would it be impolite to ask you to make me a cup of coffee? Sakura-san informed me you’ve improved greatly since your arrival. I’d like to tast that improvement myself. If that’s alright.”

Ren felt himself grin. “Sure, I see no problem with that. I can’t promise it will be as good as Boss’s, but I do make a mean cup.”

“I can’t wait to taste it, then.”

“It’s obviously the red one, they couldn’t have made it more obvious if they tried.” Ryuji pointed out.

Everyone peered down at the plate of fresh-from-the-microwave takoyaki the young made as brought them. Ren and Ann’s class had decided to hose a takoyaki maid café, most of the funds went to the maid costumes. With what little they had on hand, the students were able to make them a pale of the ‘Russian’ style takoyaki. Which, was just Russian roulette takoyaki with one of them being ungodly spicey.

“He’s right, it’s obviously the red one.” Futaba agreed.

Of the 9 doey balls ordered, one of them was a vivid pepper red. It was, ironically enough, the one with the pick poking out of it. It would either be ungodly spicy and had the poor fool who dared to eat it coughing up fire for an hour, of it was spicy in a disgusting sort of way. It didn’t appear there was any in between.

“Oh, so this is where you all were.” A charming voice mused.

Walking towards them, the famed detective smiled invitingly. 

“…Akechi,” Yusuke said tersely, almost as a greeting.

What are you doing here? The panel isn’t until tomorrow…” Makoto pointed out, almost mumbling. She was just as surprised as the rest of them to see Akechi here. 

He gave them all a polite smile, it never reached his eyes. “I came to check out the venue. I can’t make any mistakes since a lot of people will be present.” He explained.

Akechi was good at acting, scary good even, for someone who’s entire personality was a mask. His fake sweet disposition on its own was palatable, and it seemed to easily fool the people around him, but there was a bitter edge, knowing it was just an act. His eyes remained glassy and hollow, never touched by the many smiles he flashed the world. It was scary how someone so young was nothing more than a painted shell, and it was even scarier that no one seemed to care. It was as if as long as he presented to be the funny, witty detective prince the masses fawned over, he could secretly be depressed and suicidal and no one would give a damn.

Akechi eyes the pale of misshapen, steaming takoyaki.

“Hmm, I haven’t had lunch yet, so I’m a bit hungry… Mind if I have one?” He asked, almost shyly. With his eyes closed, it looked and sounded so genuine.

“Sure, go right ahead,” He replied passively. Could it be because of what he’d told the detective before?

To everyone’s shock, and Makoto’s horror, Akechi plucked up the obviously spicy Takoyaki. Before anyone had a chance to warn the airheaded detective of the danger, the Takoyaki slipped past pale lips in one bite. Everyone watched with bated breath as Akechi began chewing. Ryuji was ginning and the disaster in the making while everyone else looked ready to panic and/or bolt the moment medical assistance was needed.

“This is quite deli-“ Akechi’s words trailed off as his mask of pleasant kindness turned to blank porcelain. Ren swore he heard a gunshot sound.

Empty eyes stared blankly at the table as the detective just stood there. He was still as a statue, not even chewing.

“… Is he al-“

“How spicy,” Akechi said blankly, cutting Ryuji off.

The teen detective turned his head away from them and let out a breath slowly, face still unreadable. If this was an anime or manga, there might have been a comical burst of fire, or exhale of steam.

“Young Master? Are you alright?” Vigil’s voice cut in. He didn’t sound at all worried about Akechi’s blue screen stasis, more perplexed.

The golden-eyed man shoved a plastic bottle of pale-colored fluid into the brunette’s gloved hand, the cap off already. Almost immediately the moment the container was in his hand, the bottle flew to Akechy’s mouth and he drained it in seconds. His rigid statue posture drained away into something more doll-like as Vigil shepherded Akechi off.

“I think we broke him,” Futuba said, stating the obvious.

“Akechi… is surprisingly ditzy,” Ann said.

Ryuji started laughing.

“That detective, he is truly cunning.” Yusuke mused.

“Yeah,” Morgana agreed.


	13. The Next Target

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contact is finally made, and a deal brokered.

Had he been capable of hate, he would loathe the devil of a man standing in front of him, back facing him. Perhaps, in another place, in another time, a reality where Shido hadn’t sold him off so very long ago, he'd be discreetly glaring daggers of bloody murder at him. But, that was only a fantasy, and his reality was that he was incapable of emotions. Akechi Goro was an empty vessel; Shido’s sacrifice for power to a goddess. He was incapable of emotions.

That was the mantra he kept repeating internally, as tiny blossoms of warmth and unfamiliar sensations bloomed in his chest with every visit to Leblanc, the flowers growing a little bigger each time.

“So, we’ve finally ascertained the identities of those loathsome thieves?” Shido demanded, as if he’d had any part to play.

“Yes, thanks to all of young master’s hard work, we have video and photographic evidence of the thieves- most of them anyway- entering Okumura’s palace.” Vigil confirmed from beside his ward, coy as ever.

“Good, we proceed as planned. I trust there will be no issue with that?”

After several months dedicated to building up the Phantoms with the intention of bringing them down like this, their efforts bore a bountiful harvest in the end. It was smart, using a fake Medjed to bring them international fame and praise, even at the cost of Akechi’s own reputation at the time, and then altering the ‘phan-site’ to inflate their popularity even further, as well as guide them into targeting the late Okumura Kunikazu and pinning his death on them. Now, Akechi and Shido were both hailed as heroes because they were against the thieves even during the height of their popularity.

The thieves which had once stood as icons of hope had been thrown from their pedestal and painted the darkest of black. Now, the next step was for Akechi to make contact with them, and convince the ragtag group of teens to target Sae Nijima next. With the intent of betraying and capturing their leader, the phantom Joker. Better known to the world as Amamiya Ren.

“None at all, he’s scheduled to make a public appearance at their school, where he will lock them into an agreement they cannot refuse.”

Yes, starting tomorrow, he would begin his attempt to deceiving the thieves with the intent to infiltrate their ranks. From there he would betray them by letting the police into the palace during the tail end of what would be their final heist. It would entail deceiving the few people who brought him anything other than emptiness, and end ultimately with Joker’s blood on his hands.

Joker, Amamiya-kun, the one person who made him feel almost happy…

Any hesitations or objections he might have had, in a different life, were none existent. All he could do is play the role assigned to him, even if it meant killing the one person who was starting to make him feel alive. It wasn’t like he’d exist much longer.

“Boy, how confident are you that you can get this done?” Shido asked. The man always referred to him as boy, or it, because that was all he was to the man. 

He gave the politician a leveled, empty stare. “The thieves have more to lose, only a fool would pass up the opportunity I’ll present to them. From there, Joker will die.”

Closing his eyes, he felt Vigil’s piercing stare and eerie smile on his back and neck, like sheets of ice. Tomorrow, he started his march to hell.

So use to the limelight and having all eyes in a room squarely on him, the beading eyes of the audience were nothing. Such is what happened when you become famous. That, and you lose nearly all of your private relations. A few (one, at least) saw through his mast, and it was likely there were others too, but no one cared to acknowledge or call out that fact. As long as he looked pretty and acted likeably, no one cared how rotten and hollow he was at his core. It just, didn’t matter to the public, as long as they had a doll to fawn over.

He offered the younger Nijima girl a polite smile, one he shared then with the audience as the pannel began, humoring everyone with a bit of witty banter. So, how would the thieves’ proceed? It was more than obvious, to him, that Nijima was trying to wrestle any information pertaining to the investigation she could from him, using the popularity of the topic to her advantage. Two could easily play at that game. In the past, it was likely they had gotten information from Sae (he remembered the brief bit of suspicion pertaining to someone hacking her laptop), and the lady prosecutor was no longer an option now. They were desperate for new information, and he seemed to be their best bet.

This would be a simple matter.

“so then, does the police have any potential suspects as possible Phantom Thieves?” Nijima asked.

“No, they don’t. And, considering how little evidence they have on their group, it isn’t really that surprising.” He replied, truthfully.

“But what about yourself?” she countered. “as a detective, you must have your own people of interest, do you not?”

She was playing with fire, so a burn or two shouldn’t be surprising. “That is right, I do have my own list of suspects.”

The audience erupted into a dull roar of whispers, to his side, Nijima Makoto stiffened, face tense but resolved. Up on the second-floor balcony, Amamiya watched everything with a small gaggle of his friends. The dark-haired teen’s face was a cool mask of indifference, even as the people around him tensed and paled. Amamiya had quite the nerves of steel, or his poker face was just that impressive. It was a match for his own mask of life.

“Well then, I think we’re all eager to hear from you who the Phantom Thieves truly are.” She pressed.

The timing for this would be a bit touch and go, but Akechi was confident all would go smoothly. Now, to give truth to the saying “be careful of what you wish for”.

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt, it is just a theory right now,” He replied thoughtfully. Nijima’s grip on her hand mic was knuckle white. “but, please keep in mind, I could very easily be wrong. Also, if I am right, then everyone here will be hearing the truth before the media.”

Almost time now.

The identities of the Phantom Thieves’, I suspect that they- most of them- are students of this very academy.” He started. “and, they are likely people you all know and interact with daily.”

As he spoke, he locked eyes first with Nijima, then with Amamiya.

“That Phantom Thieves’ are-“

The loud pitch of a popular ringtone that coupled well with his detective prince persona cut him off, leaving everyone but himself steeped in suspense. He unpocketed his phone and unlocked the device, silencing it, and pretending to be looking at something important.

“I must apologize, but, it seems that something at work has come up.” He turned to Nijima and offered her a sheepish smile. “is there a private place I could use for about 10 minutes?”

“Y-yes, I think the gym faculty office should be empty.” She stammered.

He smiled. Walking away, he stayed conscious of the microphone in her hand as he murmured in a voice only she would hear “meet me there, with all your friends,” before exiting backstage.

There was a brief window of time between him arriving at the faculty room and the thieves' arrival, it was just long enough for him to retrieve the photos from his briefcase and fall into place. He already knew his plan of attack, and the exact deal he was looking to broker with Amamiya. When all seven bodies filed into the cluttered room, he met their hostility and animosity with a polite smile. He was a bit off guard by Amamiya’s apparent lack of nervousness, or negativity to the situation as a whole.

“Hmm, just as I suspected,” He mused, playing the role of the detective who’d just as his suspicions confirmed as truth.

“Get on with it!” Ryuji growled. The blond was the most hostile of their group. “what the effin’ hell do ya’ want?”

How eloquent, not that he was expecting much from the delinquent, but he couldn’t have been any blunter. It altered his plan, but in his favor, saving time not having to play games. He set the photos down for all to see. Everyone but Amamiya stiffened.

“That’s obviously ‘shopped!” Sakamoto snapped.

“I also so have a video,” He replied sweetly.

“What is it that you want with us?” Kitagawa Yusuke asked. “You obviously have the evidence needed to incriminate use, so then why are you hear showing it to us?”

“Simple, I want to strike a deal with you all,” He replied.

He didn’t miss the flash of black in his perifrial, but chose not to react to the movment. There were 8 members of the thieves, and so far he was looking at 7 of them. He’d anticipated having at least one of their ranks out of sight. But… the shape had seemed to small to be a teen. A child, maybe? It sounded about right, considering how small that cat-like figure was.

“You’re able to use that other world, right? The metaverse, it’s how you change peoples’ hearts,” It seemed everyone sans Amamiya was surprised to see him use that term outright. “It’s unsurprising that you haven’t been caught, a world like that would never turn up in an ordinary investigation.”

“So you know about that world, alright, what is it that you want from us?” Amamiya asked diplomatically. “you wouldn’t be standing here, telling us all this unless you’re here to make a deal. Is there a heart you want us to change?”

Akechi had wondered if he would need to speak his intentions outright, but it seemed Amamiya read him easily enough to know the surface reason to his actions. This made things easier. “Yes, I came here to request your assistance in changing Sae Nijima’s heart.”

The room was finally quiet for the first time sence everyone had gathered. Makoto Nijima grimanced at the mention of her sister in his request, but didn’t look surprised like the rest of her companions. She knew about her sister’s palace, it might even be the reason she was here with them to beguin with, the two had always been a level of close.

“Sae’s actions as of recently have become increasinly reckless, and now that she had been assigned the task of bringing you all to justice, I’m concerned that at this rate she will end up doing something unforgivable for the sake of self-gain.”

“How noble, is that your only reason?” A voice asked. It was definitely the voice of their 8th member, but so far it was still only 7 bodies standing in front of him. “ I wouldn’t be surprised if, after this, you tell us one of your conditions is to have us disband afterwards.”

Looking around, his eyes landed upon a black cat with imposibly blue eyes and white markings, the same traits as the theives feline-esk member. It even had a yellow collar to match the yellow bandana. A cat, and only seven bodies… Oh.  
Oh, shit.

“That… cat just spoke,” He stamered, astonishment less fake than he’d like. “I swear, I just heard it say words.”

“You aren’t hereing things, Morgana really can talk,”Takamaki Ann confirmed. “Anyone who’s been in the metaverse can understand him on this side.”

“Mona-chan raises a good point, though,” Okumura Haru pointed out. “What are your intentions after we’ve assisted you with a change of heart?”

Akechi had mentally prepared himself beforehand to face the younger Okumura and Sakura girls, but staring at then still made it feel like there was a knife twisting painfully in his gut. Sakura Futaba especailly, she looked so much like her late mother, it was as though her face was a mirror. It was his fault they had to suffer, and were now orphans. His fault that one almost was thrown into the foster system, a horrible place that would have eaten her alive and spit her out when there was nothing left, and the other now had to shoulder the weight of her father’s warped company.

“I thought about what demands would be best to make, and it is true I thought about having you disband once everything is said and done,” He answered, choosing honesty. “but, in the end I decided that was unnecessary, all I require of you all is your total cooperation in dealing with Sae-san’s twisted desires.

It was true, at the start he’d thought about making them disband, but thought about how pointless that would be. He was going to kill Amamiya Ren in the end, that alone would be the end of the Phantom Thieves, what reason was there to make them disband when that was already inevitable? It was no different than beating a dead horse. That, and there was this odd miasma that filled his gut at the thought of them disbanding because of him.

Earning their trust and cooperation was his priority, as well as ensuring the trap worked out in the end.


	14. White Crow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so they dive into the palace of envy.

Sae had undoubtedly carried a tristed desire; born from the pain and resentment of losing her father- the man she respected most- and having to take care of bother herself and her sister. Between that, and the unfairly skewed competitiveness of the public prosecutor’s office that was always so male-oriented, the seeds of envi were born. These seeds were nothing more than the bud of a palace and treasure, and would have likely not grown into a full palace for at least a year or so, but she was their ideal target, they had deemed her so for several months. To speed the development of her palace, the SUI director, and his careful poking and prodding of the young prosecutor; pushing all the necessary buttons to quickly develop her distortion.

As a key tool in Shudo’s plans, and because he was often beside Vigil, Akechi knew all of this. There was little about this conspiracy he didn’t know. It wasn't because Shido trusted him, Vigil, perhaps, the only reason Akechi was allowed to know so much was because the man knew he was incapable of betraying him. He was incapable of acting for himself, and thus wouldn’t spill any unnecessary details.

It had been a long time since he’d last donned those colors. He occasionally used his second persona, training it so if ever a time came it was useful, it wouldn’t be weak and useless. He only ever used Loki’s power when carrying out his missions, both because the monochrome persona was the one with the power to drive others psychotic, and because it was a far more appropriate fit for a puppet who killed on command.

It would be odd for someone acclaimed as ‘the second coming of the detective prince’ to be dressed in violent darkness. Loki’s guard was a prisoner, and black knight, someone ready to lash out and tear others apart at a moment’s notice. Akechi Goro, the beloved and mild detective prince was not that kind of person. Besides, Loki’s black mask is what the thieves were looking for.

Everyone was gathered outside the public prosecutor's office, directly across from them was the police department. They were an odd mish-mash of looks and characters, so far no one had given them a second glance, but that was privy to change at any second. Sakamoto, with his obviously bleached hair and barely to code school uniform was the most likely to get them spotted, followed by Takamaki’s stange looks drawing attention to them.

“Have you figured out the key words yet?” Morgana inquired.

He nodded. “Yes, I figured them out before approaching you all, to save time,”

The cat dipped his head, his version of a nod, as Amamiya withdrew his phone from a pocket. Taping the dark icon and opening the nav, he held it out, waiting.

“Niijima Sae, public prosecutor’s office, Casino,”

“Target found, selecting rout to destination.”

Akechi chose to close his eyes, dulling his senses like that made the transition between the two realities smoother. When the murky feeling of darkness ceased to crawl up and down his skin in cold, clammy waves, he opened his eyes again. The plain, unassuming prosecutor’s building had been replaced with a high-end casino that looked like it might be more than at home in Vegas or the like. The building, and the lot as a whole, was decked out to the nines with flashing neon lights depicting things related to justice.

The prosecutor's office was the only place affected by the distortion, everwhere else looked as it should back in reality. Despite technically being in the palace already, everyone –sans the cat- was still in their regular clothes. Sae had yet to see them as a threat, and either the thieves chose not to dawn their uniforms despite that, or didn’t know that was possible. By the way they talked, it was sounding like the latter. 

It was a good thing, then, that he hadn’t chosen to will his uniform into manifesting upon entering the metaverse. Not only would he be the odd one out in that situation, but it would hurt his image as a rooky who only gained his powers recently. Explaining it would eat up valuable time, and they might not even believe any BS he came up with as to why he knew about it despite only having his powers for a month, in comparison to their half a year of experience.

The thieves dove right in to a discussion about Sae’s palace, about how it looked and why only the prosecutor’s office was changed. He chose not to participate, both because he held little interest eith it, and out of respect for the younger Niijima. It couldn’t have been easy for her to see just how warped her sister’s sense of justice had become.

“We need to decide on Akechi’s code name,” Takamaki said, changing the subject.

“Code names?” He inquired. 

He’d only ever observed the Phantom Thieves' from afar, never close enough to hear more than a few random words. But, now that he looked back on it, they did never refure to eachother by name. It was the reason it took so long for him to figure out their identities.

“Yeah, we use code names inside the metaverse, to help hide out identities,” The blond girl explained. “Like, mine is Panther,”

“I’m Skull!” Sakamoto replied with a grin.

I’m Noir, and Mako-chan in Queen.” Okumura replied.

“I am fox.” Kitagawa deadpanned.

“I’m called Mona here,” Morgana, no longer just an ordinary cat, said. “And our leader goes by Joker.”

How fitting, going with a code name that was very literally a wild card. Did he choose it out himself, knowing about his power to weild multiple personas?

“Mostly our code names are based on our appearance,” Takamaki added.

“Hmm, well if we were to give me a code name based off of my metaverse appearance, I suppose Kurasu would be appropriate.” He responded wistfully.

Kurasu, the Japanese word for crow. In many cultures, the black scavanger represented misfortune, often heavily assosiated with death or loss. It was a perfect fit for him, especially in his other garb.

“Heh, you dressed all in black then?” Sakamoto asked smugly.

“No, the opposite actually, but the name fits with my mask.” He replied.

“Kurasu, the would make you the only Japanese sounding one,” Niijima pointed out.

“Let’s go with Crow instead.” Takamaki proposed.

“I don’t mind,” He replied, giving his consent.

Crow, or, with a japanise acent, Kuro. Black… It was just an odd coincidence. He did propose the name, after all, and the thieves have a thing for english codenames.

The front door was barred, forcing them to find an alternative way in. The moment they sliped into the casino though the fire escape doors higher up, their clothes changed. They were finally seen as a threat. Standing close to the center of the group, no one seemed to notice the glaring colore of his uniform, or how it contrasted greatly with most of their own outfits.

“What the Yell?! Skull yelled. So, someone finally noticed.

His metaverse outfit was styled afterhhwat western princes, specifically those in fairytales and other modernized fables, were depicted as wearing; pressed white dress pants, a clean white shirt under a pressed and pristean suit blazer with golden butons. On both shoulders were padding golden tassles were anchored to, attached was a crimson chort cape parted up the middle halfway to resemble wings. The upper half of his face was hidden behind a beaked mas the color of fresh blood. The mask itself was styled after tengue masks, or those long beaked ones plague doctors wore.

“I did tell you all my outfit was the opposet of black,” He reminded them.

“But it’s so flashy!” Skull pointed out. “there’s no way you’ll be able to do stealth in that!”

”Enough Skull,” Morgana snapped. “While I do agree that it’s very eye-catching, it’s just how Akechi perceives rebellion.”

Rebellion? What did that have to do with his outfit?

“No, it’s what I perceive a person who sticks to their justice looks like,” He replied casually, words sticky on his tongue.

In another life, one free from Vigil’s sedition, he might have felt emberassed for Sae. The tight, revealing leather dress and heavy eyeshadow (gaudy really) made her seem like some Yakuza family boss. The tattoos curling up and down her arms, paining her black and shoulders, really sealed the deal on that. The image was so very apropriat for Sae, who rulled over her underlings with iron fists.

In a way, the paralles made sense. Law enforcement was heavily male-dominated, as were most places in Japan, and women, no matter how competent, tended to be looked down upon as weak and inferior. The older Nijima just wanted people to see her as an equal; as someone who could do the job as well as they could.

His youth had him facing similar oposition, or it would, if he didn’t have Vigil acting as a buffer between him and the rest of his coworkers. Keeping them in check.

Regret was a low, blistering flam running it’s course through his intestions. If he had normal human emotions, would he have let this happen to someone he respected so?

He’d only intended to show the thieves he was capable of fighting, and wouldn’t be a hindrance to them. Showcasing extream power and the ability to use that power to controle that power hadn’t exactly been intended. Hopefully this didn’t completely destroy his cover. Officially, he’d only had the power of a persona for about a month at most, not the near 2 and a half years he’d actually prowled the metaverse.

With the way the thieves were eyeing him, it seemed the grandiose display of power hadn’t formed any suspicions. Still, he’d need to be careful moving forward. Such displays of power would ive it away that he was not the inexperienced boy he claimed to be, but an enigma that had more experience than any of them.

In the recesses of his mind, Robin Hood murmured a mental apology. It was fine, the fault was his, not the persona’s. So used to Loki and his violence, he was unaccustomed to guaging Robin Hood’s more passive nature. He would need to learn how t reign in and better apropriat his use of the sentai hero themed persona’s power in the future.

Deeper in, Loki raged like a storm in his mind. The horned persona was becoming impacient and longed to rage in full glory, howling and tearing shadows apart. He quieted the trickster a touch with a mental shush. His time with the thieves would be over for the day soon enough, after that he could discreatly make a second dive to mementos.

It was a good thing he had a (short) list of dargets to deal with. It would give him the opertunity to let Loki run free for a bit, and do some extra training with Robin Hood, this time with the intent to better control the flow of power.


	15. Lingering Affection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just how empty is he really?

The black saber of his, the melee weapon Vigil taught him to use, cut though the shadow’s body like a knife through warm butter. An ice attack clipped his right shoulder, wrenching a small hiss as he landed smoothly, white glove pressed down against frostbitten flesh. Robin Hood’s attack had done less damage than he’d anticipated. The offending shadow let out a dying shriek as Arsen finished off the monster.

“Crow, you alright?” Thir noble leader asked.

Akechi nodded. His shoulder stung, but the wound felt superficial, something skin deep that would heal quickly, leaving not even a scar to prove it was once there. Like always. Joker, Amamiya Ren, lingered, observing him long enough to determine how badly he was lying through his teeth. When the raven-haired youth was certain he was not about to keep over from low stamina, the thieves continued pressing onward through Sae’s casino of trickery.

Robin Hood’s shining elegance was a stark contrast from Loki’s savage grace, the difference was practically black and white. Attuned to using the violent trickster for so long, always needing to take care with the other’s raging hellfire of power lest he lose control, Robin Hood’s complacent and mild attitude left him unaccustomed to using his powers properly. His damage output was all over the place most of the time, the few days that passed since joining the thieves not long enough to adjust to his neglected persona. Though it was an inconvenience, that fluctuating, wild control of power helped reinforce the illusion that he was still an amateur compared to the rest.

“How’s your shoulder?” Noir inquired, dropping into step next to him.

“It’s alight, the attack only damaged the skin,” he replied mindlessly. 

The curly-haired brunette smiled. “That’s good, it wouldn’t do for one of our strongest attackers to have to fight with a bad shoulder.”

“Hey!” Skull called. “We’re movin’ on! Hurry up!”

“Well then, looks like that’s our cue,” She replied kindly.

Watching the thieves’ newest member just after himself run forward to catch up, Akechi felt, perplexed. The Phantom Thieves had so quickly accepted him into their ranks, his role among them easily falling into place, the others attuning themselves to his fighting style and weaknesses. Hard to believe that only a few days prior, he’d blackmailed his way in. He hadn’t anticipated that infiltrating their group would be this easy, still found it hard to believe. The unease left the detect paranoid, that this was all just a ruse.

Vigil was unaware of any of this. His caretaker was only aware that he’d successfully inserted himself into the thieves’ group with ease. Despite this being their third day inside the palace, they were making excellent progress, almost finished with the first floor. It was unsurprising, considering the grandmaster tactician that was queen, the prodigal hacker Oracle, and the adept leader Joker shaped up to be. That, along with having three different members of the group sans Joker who could heal as well as deal out impressive damage.

Everyone had their roles to play, either as a powerhouse, a supporter, or a bland of the two. Joker, their jack of all trades who could complete a team no matter who he was paired up with, was their leader and always front and center. His ability to use many different personas at a time was what allowed him to cover their weaknesses at any given time.

Loki and Robin Hood were both impressive in their own rights, but neither granted him quite the versatility Joker wielded. Why was that? How was Joker able to command so many different masks and personalities at once? It was something he often thought about. Was it because he wasn;t empty? Did that definition of self allow him to not get lost in the chaos of conflicting facets of the ego?

“Akechi-kun, I’ve been curious for a while now, why did you become a detective? Niijima Makoto asked.

The 9 of them were gathered once more at Leblanc, this time finalizing their preparations for a mementos run. This would supposedly be his first time in the embodiment of the masses collective unconscious. As always, the small café would have been empty if not for their presence.

“Actually, I’ve wondered about that myself,” Takamaki added.

Hmm. It wasn’t all that impressive a story, but everyone knew each other's motivations. As the newest member, he was still an engma to them… A bit of truth would probably help his case. 

“Alright, I don’t mind telling you all,” He replied.

“Meh, knowing you, it’s prolly something cliché like wantin’ to better society, or some crap like that,” Sakamoto said disinterested, shrugging.

“Mmm, sorry to disappoint, but the reason I became a detective was out of selfishness,” He responded wistfully, letting his voice talk on a solemn tone.

It would be an edited version, no one could learn the truth. No one.

“I don’t know who my parents are, Akehi might not even be my real last name. When I was born, I was put in Vigil’s care. Maybe their dead, or maybe they just didn’t want me, either way, Vigil is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a parent.”

He never knew who his mother was, all he knew about her was what Vigil and Shido told him. She was someone Shido’d fooled around with, and after his birth she gave him up, placing him in Vigil’s complete care. Shido was his father, but the man never played the part, so Vigil really was the closest thing to a parent he’d ever known.

“When I was 14, I decided I wanted to become a detective. It wasn;t out of some grandiose desire for social reform, nor did I do it with the intent of becoming famous, I did so because I wanted to prove to others I could accomplish great things, that something could really be mine. Maybe, maybe I also wanted to show others that they can make a place for themselves, that even a faceless passerby can make a difference.”

“It seems you aren’t that different from us, Akechi,” Kitagawa mused.

“Yusuke's right. Like us, adults cast you aside, but instead of breaking down and giving in, you’ve let that make you stronger. Rebelled against it even.” Niijima pointed out.

The younger Niijima sister wasn’t wrong. Cruel adults were exploiting his powers, just like what others had done to them at one point. But, unlike his temporary allies, he hadn’t rebelled against the system and broken free of their oppression. Vigil had broken his will before that could happen, leaving him the empty husk he was today.

“Yen for your thoughts?” Joker purred smoothly, inches from his ear.

“…Just calculating the best way to earn all the tokens we need,” Akechi replied calmly, suppressing a shudder of surprise. 

Joker was very close to his person, inch any closer and their shoulders would be bumping together as they walked. The others were up ahead, but well-withing sight. Though, they might as well be all alone at the moment. Akechi continued to fomulate plans and run mental calculations when fingers sifted through his hair. The act almost made him pause mid-step.

“You’re braid’s come undone,” Joker explained, as if sensing his trepidation. “want me to fix it?”

“That, would be appreciated, yes. It would be a disaster if it got caught on anything.” He answered airily, body feeling tense.

Deftly, Joker tugged at fine locks of glazed-chestnut colored locks, gathering them up altogether before dividing it into sections to braid. This wasn’t the first time the raven had done this for him, gloved fingers running through his hair to smooth out any tangles. from the moment their alliance began, Joker tended to enter his personal space quite frequently. He never did anything to invade his person, or touch him in any way than suggested he saw Crow as anything other than a close confidant. But there was always a purposeful softness to his touches, a lingering affection in words addressed to him, smoldering gazes that ignited a warmth previously only held in Leblanc’s walls.

Swiftly, Joker wove the last bit of his brait and tied the end with his hair tie, locking everything back into place. It wasn't the same elegant quality Vigil produced, but his raven-haired caretaker had well over a decade of experience. For an amature, the quality was superb, perfect even. It didn’t look pretty, but it would hold up until he got home and no longer needed to pull his hair back.

“Thank you,” He murmured softly.

“Any time,”


	16. A Wild Gamble Between Fools

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little by little, the ice is chipped away, one tap at a time.

In battle, Akechi fought shadows in such a way that made him looked like a dancer, or a gymnast; movements elegant and flowing like running water, but still caring lethality and oh so calculated to kill. If his codename wasn’t ‘crow’, they might have named him ‘swan’. A violent swan indeed, every step, every slice, every shot, all carried killing intent. Joker had more than once found himself entranced by crow’s deadly battle dance, watching him skip and turn through the air before delivering a finishing blow. The other thieves all found themselves in similar situations, just stopping and staring at their newest ‘member’. Fox even had a sketchbook dedicated to Crow fighting, and it was nearly full too. He dubbed it ‘the beauty of dance and battle’.

It was no secret among them that they all suspected the white-clad detective had infiltrated their ranks with the intent to betray them. They hid their suspicions, and hid them well. Even Skull, the most open of them all about their secrets, perfectly pretended like he didn’t suspect Crow would soon enough stab them in the back. Nor was it a secret they suspected him as the perpetrator behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. They didn’t think he was the mastermind behind it all, no, there was a puppet master pulling his strings. They even managed to tap his phone for a short while, allowing them to acquire a conversation between himself and a man by the name of ‘Shido’, talking about their plan to eliminate the phantom thieves.

“Oh come on!” Ryuji groaned. “He makes that look way to easy!”

“Truly marvelous, such grace as he tore that shadow to shreds.” Yusuke breathed.

Akechi’s body glided through the air like a bird, the short cape on his back a pair of crimson wings as he landed on his feet like a cat. The black ooze that acted as shadows’ blood was onyx bright against the polished gleam of his saber, the foe in question kneeling breathlessly on the floor of mementos. Crow stalked forward, one silent step after the other. The brunette flicked his weapon with one fluid motion of his arm, casting off the black ooze from its blade. Staring down his opponent from behind that crimson mask of his, Crow ended the fight with a well-placed stab of his saber.

As merciless as he was beautiful. If their plan somehow failed in the end, would his own death look like that? Staring down a beautiful monster, like something ripped from an oil painting, weapon pressed cool against his flesh. It didn’t sound like all that terrible a way to die, but Joker had no intention of kicking the bucket any time soon. Especially not until this sick and twisted world was changed for the better.

He was neck-deep in a gamble that might cost him his life; igniting like back into the garnet depths of empty eyes always facing forward. He’s already seen previews of how beautiful those eyes might look, burning with passion, defiance, and life. The plan was slow-moving, requiring painstaking amounts of patience and care to cultivate, but Joker was certain it would work. Already, the signs were there, within the secrecy of Leblanc, plastic smiles were warming into the sky outlines of real ones, faux laughter was losing its hollow chime, and orbs the rick color of red wine were beginning to sparkle.

“Crow, only you can make fighting shadows look like an art form,” He said.

“You exaggerate, Fox’s movements are far more refined and elegant than mine,” Crow replied with a light chuckle.

“Really? because he’s said just that about you,"

Crow was always lingering towards the back of their group, never close to them despite the short distance between. It was a silent, passive indicator that he deemed himself not truly part of their group, never bothering to get close to anyone. It was one a few reminders that his intention was betraying them, setting them up to fall for his crimes when this was all said and done.

Testing boundaries and pushing the limits, Joker slipped away from his friends and joined the detective-turned-thief. Even knowing there was an unseen gun pressed to his head, between his eyes, whenever he got close, he still had to try. Crow was just as much a victim of greedy adults as the rest of them, and it would be hypocritical to forsake him just because he killed. Crow, Akechi, wasn’t killing because he wanted to, he killed because others made him into a weapon without will.

Crimson brushed against pale white, as he cautiously, carefully brushed his fingers against the detectives’. He saw the slight twitch of the other’s eyes, the ways his fingers curled and uncurled. No true reaction, Crow didn’t say anything about the slight contact, didn’t really acknowledge it.

“You denie it, but it’s true, everything about to is refined elegance,” He pressed. “Fox has stated he’d love to have you model for him some time- nothing riske, of course, just have you pose a few times for him.”

“Crow hummed, lashes fluttering against his cheeks. “I wouldn’t mind, if he insisted, but there are far better muses than myself out there.

“Really? I think you’d make a great subject for a painting,” He countered,” with how doll-like you are, I think Fox could make a winning contemporary painting, or maybe a still-life?”

Out of the corner of his perifrial, he watched hawkly as Crow stiffened. The sudden tightness to his posture lasted only about a second, if you weren’t watching him closely, you’d likely miss the change at all. It was a fine line he was toeing, and unless he moved cautiously, he might accidentally show his hand.

“A funny joke, Joker, but you might want to refine your humor a bit,” Crow replied, his smile stiff and straining.

“My apologies, I’ll tone it down then,” He hummed. “but I was serious about the painting thing, I think you’d make a great subject.”

“…I'll think about it, I’ve no doubt Fox has skill.”

“Guy’s!” Ryuji shouted. “We’re moving out, get in the monabus!”

“That’s our cue to hurry up,” Joker observed, smirking.

“I really think you should stop poking the bear, there’s only so far you can take this before Akechi catches on.” Morgana said.

“I know to be careful, I’m exercising the utmost caution not to let it slip we’re on to his true intentions.” Ren replied soothingly.

“Ren… is this gamble really worth it?” The black cat asked. “I know you sympathize with his situation, all of us do, but you’re playing with fire.

Ren chuckled. “I’m aware, but I believe that if I can get through to Akechi, break Vigil’s hold on his life, it’ll shift the odds in our favor.”

“Alright…” Morgana sighed, unconvinced. “but, if Vigil finds out what you’re trying to do, he’s not the kind of enemies we need at the moment. He’s the one who made Akechi into what he is now, there’s a reason the man needs him like that, he won’t take kindly to a wrench in his plans.”

“Oh I know,” Ren replied. “But, I don’t think we need to worry about him just yet. I’ve been talking with Akechi for almost a month, and he’s still allowing him to visit. I think Akechi’s keeping secrets from his dead caretaker.”


	17. Check

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both parties prepare for the end, resolving themself for what they must do.

Caught up in the heat of the present, the thieves soon found their deadline of the 20th closing in on them. The thieves had taken Akechi’s recommendation, and planed to sent the calling card on the 18th, using the urgency of such a close call to ensure Sae’s treasure did manifest as desired. In only a few short days, the happy little haze of bliss and warmth would be gone. Destroyed by his own hands. He’d known from the start this was never meant to last, that he had orders to tear it all apart when the opportune time arose. Orders were orders; absolute laws that he must follow to a T.

“This was all nothing more than a child’s dream, I am nothing, was raised to be nothing, will soon cease to exist,” He reminded himself.

He was alone in the penthouse, Shido was in a meeting with several of his lackeys, and Vigil was off someplace preparing for Nyx’s return. That’s right, when the goddess descended upon this world once more, possessing his body for their own, he would no longer exist. His own life was drawing to a close just like Amamiya’s. His fate was no different from death; the husk of an ego that was “Goro Akechi” should be discarded as death incarnate took root in his body, replacing his mind with the will and soul of something unearthly. It was a symbolic death, much different from the literal one Amamiya Ren would soon face when he shot the boy in the head.

And, unlike Joker who had friends and family to mourn him when he was gone, no one would notice the death of Akechi. If the world existed after Nyx claimed hold of their vessel, then the goddess would prance about in his body, with no one privy to the truth.  
Taking another long, slow sip of black tea scalding and tastless, he exhaled slowly, breath warm over his tongue. If Amamiya or any of his band of thieves met his body after his soul was replaced, would they notice a difference? Would they be able to see that someone else now inhabited the body of their ex comrade? Perhaps he wasn’t as empty as he thought, and perhaps he had someone who would miss him, but it didn’t matter. Even if Amamiya had somehow cultivated a fragile ego in him, Akechi would soon murder the one person who might have mourned him. His entire life was a tragedy, and this was just one more blight to add.

The quicksilver cachet case, aluminum body polished to a silver sheen, was propped open on the table. Inside, a single thin police issue notebook rested in a bed of crimson velvet, nestled against the padding as though it were a ring, not a leather-bound sheaf of paper.

“Yes, that’s what it looked like,” Makoto confirmed.

Now that their fake treasure was prepared, the last parts of their plan would fall into place. All that was left to do was sent the calling card in a few days and act as though this were a normal heist.

“Yusuke, Futaba, you both did an amazing job,” He said, praising the two for their hard work.

The former nodded, arms crossed and face neutral. The bluenette’s expressions and reactions were always so muted, but there was the unmistakable glimmer of pride in his dark eyes. The latter was beaming, eyes gleaming mischievously, smile a crooked slash on her face. Both had done a superb job in creating a realistic replica of Sae Niijima’s treasure, of what they believed it would be. None of them could be 100 percent sure was the root cause of her distortion was until they saw it, but Makoto knew her best, and felt certain it would be the police notebook of their late father.

They knew Akechi was going to betray them, would somehow have the police waiting in the metaverse to capture them. It was a big gamble, but they’d been backed into a corner by a previously unseen enemy, and now, this was their best bet as everyone getting out alive. Sae’s palace had everything they needed, if all went as planned, they could use it to outwit the traitor and avoid the death of their leader.

“Alright, now they we have everything, we wait,” Morgana said.

“Yes…” Haru murmured “but, I still wish we had other options, ones that don’t involve out leader getting caught by the police.”

“Yeah, it’s not like we don’t know that they’re planin’ on killing ‘im in the end,” Ryuji grunted. “and, it ain’t like we don’t know Akechi’s the one to off ‘im, either.”

Akechi Goro, Crow, the 9th member of their group. They had been suspicious of the detective, that he had an ulterior motive, when he confronted them during the school festival. He claimed to have awoken the power of persona back in October, but he had accidentally proven to be able to hear Morgana all the way back in June. That, among a few other reasons, were the basis for their belief that Akechi planned to betray them.

Akechi was most likely the backmasked individual they heard about from both Madarame and Kaneshiro’s shadows. The one using the metaverse for the self-gain of his puppet master, the figure named Shido.

“We all feel that way, but our lack of information has left us few options to chose from, and this is the one with the best odds.” Makoto reminded them all.

Futaba wilted at the reminder. She was an amazing hacker, and had managed to cook up an app that let them bug Akechi’s phone. It was how they got the phone call between him and Shido. They might have acquired more, if the enemy didn’t eventually delete the app, cutting off the flow of information. So far, it didn’t seem like the bug had tipped their foes off, but Futaba had blamed herself for their lack of intel.

Chin up, Futaba,” Ren said. “Without that bug of your’s we wouldn’t even have the hint to who Akechi’s puppet master is. ‘Shido’ isn’t much, but it’s more than what we started with.”

The ginger-haired girl smiled weakly at that.

“Ren’s right, something is always better than nothing, no matter how small,” Ann added.

“…That was a brave face you put on, especially for Futaba’s sake,” Morgana commented.

Everyone sans the two had shuffled out of Leblanc minutes ago to catch their respective train, or because it was dinner time at home (Futaba). 

“Thanks, she needed that pick-me-up,” Ren replied.

If Ren was being honest with himself, he was scared. Getting caught by the police was a risky endeavor, and having the end goal being to fake your death in police custody was even riskier. He’d read horror stories on the internet, about police brutality in obtaining evidence and confession; beating people, using drug, starving suspects, depriving them of sleep and getting aggressive with them. Behind closed doors, anything goes.

Even if Sae was not so morally deprived to stoop to such lengths to acquire her confessions and convictions, the police would have him first. He’d be at the mercy of the cops until she finally stepped in.

Ren could handle pressure, always managed to stay calm during heists, even after things turned for the worst. But, even a fool like him had fear. The riskiest part of their plan was him convincing Sae of his innocence. After he’d been ‘ruffed up’ by the police. It would be bad enough trying to get the straight-laced Sae to believe the wild fable that was this past year, add to that he’d likely be having a hard time thinking… If he failed to convince her of the truth, he was as good as dead.


	18. Desperat Gamble in the Casino of Envey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so, the fight against Saeaiathan begins.  
and no, you read that right.

It was the same route they’d mapped out earlier, the same hallways they’d run up and down, in and out of for weeks on end. Now, on the day of the heist, the air buzzed with a strange energy. Akechi was a dancer of death; the shadows and thieves his companions in the bloody waltz called battle. The beating of his heart set the rhythm, the howel of his sword against metal, scale and flesh was the orchestra, Robin Hood’s magic and arrows the audio cues.

2 short weeks was not enough time to unlearn habits formed from 2 years of solitude. He’d wandered the depths of mementos, explored palaces born from the hearts of men so twisted, they were more demon than anything else, and he’d done so with only his personas to look out for him. It would take much, much longer to truly attune himself to a group, he was still so very unused to having Joker guarding his back, and Skull forwarning him when something entered one of his blind spots.

He would miss this security, when everything was over and done with.

Soon, far sooner than expected- though time did seem to blur, they reached the bridge of judgment; the last stop between them and Sae’s most beloved treasure. They all boldly sauntered into the tastefully decorated waiting area. It was still mostly the same as last time; thoughtful use of lively green plants both native and not to the region, skillfully done stonework that made the planters seem bigger and lusher, the soft babble of running water. Oh, and the now-empty pedestal in the center of the room.

Sae’s treasure; the core allowing this casino to exist, was no longer there.

For Akechi, this was not the first time a shadow had moved its core posthaste, and normally it didn’t matter. Now, that he was targeting the treasure and not the shadow, it was an inconvenience, yes, but he still didn’t give a damn (couldn’t technically give a damn in the first place). For the phantom Thieves, this was a major setback, and an even bigger wrench in the plan.

“Ahh, you’ve finally arrived,” A family voice drawled coyly. “First; let me congratulate you all for making it this far, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“For as much joy as those words bring me, we’d much rather have your treasure over words of praise,” He quipped back smoothly.

Sae chuckled. “Come. It’s time we ended this once and for all,” As she said that, a circular vault style door opened, revealing a path onward.

“It appears that she isn’t hiding her treasure, merely choosing a battlefield of her preference,” Akechi commented plainly.

“We’ll need to be cautious, she has Homefield advantage,” Joker replied.

“Damn it! She’s mocking us!” Ryuji seethed. “Let’s go after her!”

Clamoring up the stairs leading to the room’s second level, the mish-mashed group of characters darted through the now opened door and spilled out into an elevator lobby. The circular lift stood front and center, waiting unassumingly to take them up higher, to were Sae’s crafty shadow had chosen to fight them.

“Is everyone prepared?” He asked.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Noir replied.

“Yes, let’s go,” Queen agreed, voice unwavering. Quieter, he heard her murmur “Don’t worry Sis, I’ll protect you,”

He snuffed out the bitter feeling lingering in his gut. He wasn’t here to kill Sae, she was safe, for now.

It was a short, quiet elevator ride up to the top. Finally, they were at the manager’s floor most likely. They all shuffled out into a large open room, the are they were standing on was part of a circular dip in terrain. Overhead was a skylight giving them a view of the night sky. On all sides of them, stone pots with flowers lined the outer rim of the dip.

The set up reminded him of a roulette wheel. Just what was this shadow planing?

Once everyone had vacated the elevator, it retracted back into the ground. The moment it did do, a large TV screen blinked to life, showing them Sae’s shadow, only her face, smirking down at them. The reason for such distortion, the hardships Sae was forced to endure after the deather of her and Makoto’s father, the pain of being left behind, and the twisted words the SUI director had fed her to accelerate the distortion.

Though he verbally chastised her for her less than noble reasoning, he was no different. No, he was much, much worse than her. Maybe that was the reason he’d placed his hand on Queen’s shoulder, fingers spread to avoid the spikes, and reminded her of her resolve. Where was this compassion coming from?

Sae’s shadow, in all her yakuza-esk glory, sauntered over to them, her painted lips pulled into a gleeful smirk. This would be his first time fighting a shadow without the intent to kill them. It was a good thing he was working in a group, hiding his full potential from them, it would ensure he never used more power than necessary, thus lowering the chances of an accident happening.

At the shadow’s command, the low dip in the room they were standing in changed. Red and black pockets, each graced with a number, opened up on all sides of them. A god damn roulette wheel indeed. It seems Sae wasn't done with her games, how was she planning to cheat this time?

Sae said nothing as they all summoned their personas, only smirked as they unleashed powerful attacks altogether. When the dist scattered by their actions cleared, Sae remained standing, as cocky and unnerved as before. She hadn’t sustained as much damaged as he’d hoped for, but it was a start. Shadow Sae chuckled and tipped down her hat as though she hadn’t just endured the best of their best.

“Now then, let’s play fair and square,” She declared, snapping her fingers, a ball dropped from above as the roulette began spinning. 

The monitor from before blicked back to life, “Bet HP” lit up in bold pale letters. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he wasn't eager to find out either.

“W-what the?!” oracle squeaked, not exactly a boost of confidence.

Not that he was confident about the situation in the first place. This was just another one of Sae’s games, and just like the ones on the lower floors, this one was just as rigged. If they were going to win, they needed to find out how she was doing it, and then call her out on the BS.

“Now, let us play a game of Roulette. The stakes will be… our lives!” Shadow Sae declared ominously. “Of course, acts of violence are forbidden here. One must follow the rules.”

Yes, her skewed rules.

“We already told you, there’s no way we’re gonna follow your rules anymore!” Oracle rebuked.

“That’s fine by me. Such troublesome people will just face the penalty.” Sae replied cooly.

Ignoring the ominous warning, or maybe taking it upon himself to bite the bullet, Joker summoned her persona and aimed a strong physical attack as the shadow. It hit her square on, chipping off a sliver of health, but the laughter that followed was eerie and freezing.

“Ahh…So you’ve broken the rules.” Shadow Sae observed gleefully. “In that case, it’s time you be penalized.”

Crackling, comically large red and black chips dropped down from above, hitting Joker full force and almost nicking him out in the process. Gritting his teeth, Akechi kept his eyes on Sae. Damn, she never sounded this happy when prosecuting, so where was all this sadism coming from? Apparently, he’d underestimated just how good a job the SUI Director was going to do.

“Those who cannot follow the rules are not to be tolerated. That’s simply how society operates.” Shadow Sae declared.

Queen and panther both rushed to heal their thoroughly beaten leader, filling his nearly depleted stamina back up to full before Sae’s shadow could pull something else. With no other options available but to obey, they were forced to take the defensive, lest hey earn another penalty like that.

“You will predict which pocket the ball will fall into.” Shadow Sae explained. “Now then, the time has come for the first round. Chose where you will place your bet!”

“I’m almost positive she’s going to try and cheat, but even if we bring that up, she’d just ignore us,” Morgana said. “We should just go along with the game for now and try and gain evidence on her methods of cheating.”

“Mona is right, it’s all we can do at this point,” He agreed.

Having no other choice but to comply and bet, they left the decisions up to Joker. The betting was on HP this time, with that in mind, as well as their chances of actually winning, Joker bet on the low-risk option of going black. The ball spun and spun before the wheel stopped, letting the ball finally role to a close. Just when it appeared that it would land in a black pocket, the ball bounced off of an opaque, semi-shiny surface, landing in the adjacent red pocket.

White-hot pain with no source crashed over them as the winner was transferred her winning bet. Sae’s shadow laughed at their pain as he own wounds mended before their very eyes.

“We lost…” Mona hissed, biting back the last traces of pain. “Have you figured anything out, Joker?”

“Yeah,” Their leader breathed. “She’s using a glass lid of some kind.”

“How humiliating…” He murmured, not actually caring.

“Let’s catch her in the act so she can’t talk her way out of it!” Oracle proposed. “Have someone snipe the pocket when that glass lid appears!”

“Crow, let’s put that sharp eye of your to good use,” Joker said.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Joker was talking about more than just snipping the glass lip. Ignoring the feeling, he took his position up on the higher outer ridge of the roulette, movements hidden by his teammates. Tucking himself behind one of the many flower pots, he watched intently. The words on screen here different, “Bet Money” not replaced the old bet. So, the bet changed from round to round, at least they weren't always staking their lives on it.

The roulette pockets blurred together as the force of inertia caused it to spin and spin. Joker, ever the bold, decided to go with a high staked bet, going for the numbered pockets this time. In a way, that made it easier.

Eyes never leaving his target, the roulette eventually began to slow, ball bouncing and bouncing. The moment he caught sight of the gleam of the glass lid, he squeezed the trigger. The silent shot of his gun zoomed through the air, colliding with the lid and shattering the glass. Smirking, the ball fell into one of the allotted pockets. That made them the winners of this round. 

“Wh-what?!” Shadow Sae shrieked, falling to a kneeling position.

Quickly rejoining the others, the 8 of them had Shadow Sae surrounded, caught in the act red-handed.

“What was that about playing fair and square?! You were totally cheating!” Oracle said.

Sae’s shadow was quiet, sans a few quiet ‘Ngs’.

“You coward! What’re you so quiet for? Say something!” Oracle demanded.

“Shut up… SHUT UUP!” Sae roared in retaliation to the young girl’s taunting.

Finally, Sae’s shadow showed it’s true colors. Shifting in a frenzy of black ooze, the frightening, imposing form of a black mechanical apocalyptic gladiator emerged. The form was oddly fitting, clashing nicely with the rider outfit her little sister was dressed in. Though the older woman didn’t brandish a set of brass knuckle busters, the dark saber and enormous canon were imposing weapons in their own rights.

“S-Sis?!” Queen choked out.

“Cheating?! Unfair?! Silence! This is MY world!” Shadow Sae howled in fury. “If you want a fair fight, then to hell with the game! I’ll crush you by force. Fair and square, just as you like!”

“This… is my sister’s true nature?! No…” Queen despaired.

He wanted to comfort her, but now was not the time. Once more, he found himself wondering where this sudden compassion was stemming from.He was empty, apathy should be all he had.

“We’re finally back to a normal fight… good luck, Joker!” Oracle wished them.


	19. A Kiss for Good Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They both part, the trickster stealing a kiss from his executioner. They both know, the next time they meet, it will be a tragety.

Akechi was used to the rampant desperation and intense fury Sae’s Shadow displayed, he was well acquainted with it after fighting shadows for years. Whether it was the treasure under threat, of their life itself, shadows always became desperate to win. It was something both he and the thieves found common ground in. This dance of steel and gunfire, of magic and sorrow, was not a waltz- it was too fast pace for such. No, the battle with Sae’s furious shadow was a quick-paced tango. Black saber grinding against the gritty armor of shadow Sae, weaving in and out with the other combat thieves, for a moment, he allowed himself to be lost in the music of screaming and shrieking.

Queen was shoulder to shoulder with him, the reinforced body of her knuckle dusters leaving dents in the dark hull of Sae’s armored body as his saber scraped and skittered. Mona and Panther were positioned towards the edge of the conflict, both more suited to heal and rein magical hellfire down upon their foes from a distance. Oracle's sharp analysis and unmatched data gathering allowed them to not only know what the shadow’s weakness was, but we able to anticipate strong, potentially lethal, attacks ahead of time.

On his own, he had to remember weakness, anticipate deadly attacks, watch his own back. It was a different pace entirely from fighting as part of a group. He didn’t have Oracle's navigation and analytical powers, none of his personas were able to replicate Necronomicom’s skills. He was accustomed to hurling magic and bullets down upon his target, watching to see what worked and what didn’t, having only his own powers to guard himself with.

Kicking off against the flat plane of Sae’s oversized sword, he sailed over Joker, slate gray boring deep into wine maroon for just a second. Smirking, their tricky leader raised a hand to his mask. Seth once more emerged from blue fire, growling out a battle cry to match Sae’s own howling. The black dragon god charged at Sae, hurling into her metallic frame like a runaway train, before turning back into Joker’s mask. He’d heard the way Sae’s armor had squealed and groaned under the onslaught, and did not wish to be on the receiving end of such an attack any time soon.

Both sides chiseled away at each other’s stamina. But, unlike Sae who fought alone, they had 3 -4 if you counted Joker- fighters capable of healing the party. It was a long, drawn-out battle. He found himself using Robin Hood’s magic more and more, his saber not as effective as the more blunt bodies of Skull’s basharm and Queen’s knuckle dusters. Part of Sae’s armor buckled under the swift weight of Noir’s ax, Fox covering her retreat with a wall of ice.

He felt his stamina starting to wain. He normally didn’t have the luxury of long, drawn-out battles against shadows, fighting on his own meant stamina was always in short supply; thus, battles had to be finished as soon as possible.

Perhaps the battle might have ended sooner, if Akechi had let the violent storm that was Loki rage free. But not only would that give his true intentions away, being counter-productive to his goal, he wasn't sure the police would be able to capture the thieves at this point.

The moment they had Sae backed into a proverbial corner (the room was circular, no literal corners in sight), she pulled a move he was well acquainted with seeing time after time. Desperation dropped Sae’s defense nearly to 0, but rose her attack to the maximum. It wasn’t a move shadows normally made, except when they felt their lives were in danger. Because he normally maneuvered through palaces of mementos with the intent to kill, such a last gambit to survive was common. The same could not be said of the Phantom Thieves.

He saw the way Skull and Fox were tossed; flung through the air when they dared get too close. Unthinking, the whispered ‘persona’ escaped his lips and Robin Rood emerged from blue fire. The shining white-clad persona caught the two boys with ease and returned them to solid ground before returning to nothing. Why had he done that?

There wasn't time to think about unconscious actions as Sae’s shadow pressed on in her desperation fueled attacks. Eventually, they were able to finally chip away at the last of her health, their own stamina not much better. The battered saber and canon dropped to the felt ground as shadow Sae herself stumbled forward, collapsing onto the floor.

The shadow’s body became black ooze once more as it’s form returned to it’s more human inclined state. Queen rushed to her sister’s side, gently cradling the woman’s head in her lap. Though he couldn’t understand why she would show such kindness to a mere shadow- and one that had nearly killed many of them over the duration of the fight, his heart felt a bit lighter.

“We’ll go get the treasure,” Skull muttered, he and Fox detangling themselves to go retrieve what they’d come here to steal.

“Makoto?” Shadow Sae murmured, cracking her pained eyelids open to stare up at their strategist.

“I- I don’t think it’s wrong to bring light to evils which can’t be judged by law. That all the Phantom Thieves- all we’ve been trying to do too,” Queen said. “But these, aggressive investigations? Twisting the truth for your own personal gain…?” There was a slight quiver in her voice. 

Empty. Queen accusation, though directed at her sister, rattled around in his chest. He didn’t become a detective with the aim for fame, he didn’t maintain his position because he wanted to.

“Please… You have to think back to the feelings you had when you first wanted to be a prosecutor,” Queen pleaded. “Think about your justice, sis.”

“My justice…” Shadow Sae murmured.

Justice… Such an abstract concept indeed. In many instances, it was glorified revenge sanctioned by the law. A means of getting back at the people who wronged you in the past. In a life untouched by Vigil’s sedition, one where his life wasn’t forfeit to a goddess, he might've saught such vengeance against Shido. But at the moment, he was incapable of longing for such.

“Try to remember how you use to be,” Queen continued. 

“How I…” Sae’s shadow looked puzzled, a gloved hand of her reaching up to brush against her sister’s exposed cheek.

“Nijima-san… She’s just like my father…” Noir mused quietly. “What caused them to change like this…?”

Poor naïve child. Was she really that blind to her father’s true nature, even after seeing his palace and being tricked by his shadow? Okumura Kunikazu wasn't the tragic victim his daughter seemed to pain him as. Unlike Sae, who’s distortion was largely made by warping her already fragile morals, courtesy of the SUI director, the senior Okumura had walked that path of his own volition.

“Hm… Even though their own desires were the cause, succumbing to such distorted thoughts is strange…” He pretended to agree. “It there another reason they don’t know of…?”

For Sae, yes. She was just a pawn in Shido’s game of chess. Okumura… was a tad more complicated. Shido had reached out to the man with the intent of using him as a pawn as well, but when given power, it was Okumura himself that had succumbed to his own selfishness. He chose to request those breakdown himself, without prompting for Shido or any of the others associated with him.

“We found it!” Fox called.

He and skull returned, Skull holding a metal briefcase in one hand. So, it was finally done.

“The investigation will now be able to proceed. The suspicions against you will be lifted as well.” He replied. “Though, to think that I, a detective, would act alongside the Phantom Thieves…”

“You’re more than welcome to continue working with us,” Joker offered.

Wishful thinking.

“Unfortunately, I must decline,” He answered softly. “This shall be the end of our working together.” Because, soon you’ll be dead, he thought sadly.

“Alright, we don’t need to stay here any longer!” Mona reminded them. Then, softer, he turned to Queen. “Are you alright…?”

“I am, let’s go,” she answered, removing herself from her sister’s side. 

“Hu?!” Oracle yelped. “Enemy reading! When did they…?!” She fell silent for a bit, as her network gathered more data. “They’re gathering outside!”

“For real?! The hell’s goin’ on!? Skull cried.

The trap, the police were finally in place. 

“Look at those numbers…!” Fox breathed.

“This doesn’t look good…” Panther worried.

“We defeated the palace ruler and even stole the treasure, yet the shadows are still restless…” Mona noted. “It doesn't make any sense… What’s going on here?”

So, they didn’t realize those weren’t just shadows. Good, the trap was all set and the players' none the wiser to the truth. All he needed was to get Joker outside somehow. 

“There are more coming?! This’ll be dangerous if we don’t do something…!” Oracle informed them, eyes shifting through more and more data.

Faintly, coming out as broken bits of staticky dialogue, the sounds of people talking through handheld radios buzzed in. Damnit, he hadn’t anticipated this. Either he’d underestimated the power of Oracle’s persona, or someone had flubbed when deciding on radio wave strength.

Hopefully, she didn’t catch on to the true nature of the swarm outside just yet.

“Hu…?” Her quiet confusion was lost the more pressing need to escape.

“We need to go now! Those guys in black suits are almost here. We’ll be done for if we get surrounded.” Morgana said. 

“A team this large would be discovered immediately. We had best split up for our escape…” Queen advised. “Although, we’ll need someone to act as a decoy…” 

She paused for a moment, thinking over the situation. “…No, that’s too dangerous.” She declared. 

“It’s fine, leave it to me,” Joker said.

“Joker?!” Queen cried. “Are you planning on distracting them by yourself?!”

Well now, this was a welcomed yet unexpected twist. Akechi was expecting to offer himself up as the decoy and use Joker’s protective nature against him. 

“Let him do it, Queen,” Skull said. “He’s quiet, but once his mind’s made up, he’s not gonna take no for an answer.” 

The blond held the briefcase up, offering it to their fearless leader. Joker smirked coyly as he reached over to take the case. 

“…I’m sure you ain’t gonna die, it’s you we’re talkin’ about here,” 

“Please don’t do anything reckless, OK?” Noir pleaded. 

“I’ll never forgive you if you don’t make it back.” Panther snarled, voice wavering.

“We still haven’t fulfilled our deal, remember?” Mona reminded the ebonette ruefully. 

“Even more are coming!” Oracle called.

All their pleading and promises wouldn’t change a thing. Joker would be caught, that was what would happen. The plan was solid, and everyone was making decisions leading to the inevitable. But they didn’t know that.

“This truly is a painful reluctant parting…!” Fox sighed. 

“It seems we’d best hurry.” He reminded them. 

“…We’ll see you later.” Queen said, voice like a vow. 

He followed Joker to the lights, watched the other calculate his path over the light fixtures to get out. He felt painfully empty, like someone had carved him open and scraped out his insides with a dull knife. The next time they saw each other, would be in the underground interrogation room. 

“… Be careful, leader,” He said, lying through his teeth.

Turning to make his own escape, a hand caught his wrist before he could leave. Joker somehow managed to tuck the briefcase under one arm as he spun Akechi around, pulling him in close. The kiss was a chaste one, lips warm and firm against his own. Why? What possessed the raven to do this?

The warmth from the intimacy made him want to scream, cry, hold Joker close and never let go. Despite not having any more tears, his eyes burned as he stared hopelessly at him.

Joker gave him one of those sly smirks that seemed as much a part of his disguise as his mask. As if there was any hope they’d see each other again outside of police custody.

“A kiss for good luck,” He explained. As if that was supposed to make him feel better.

He watched Joker’s black form retreat across the hanging lights. A pale glove rose up to ghost along his lips as he watched his target leave, before finally tearing his eyes away from the soon-to-be-deadman, making his own escape. What a fool. Was he thinking about Joker, or himself?

For the first time in many, many, many years, Akechi found himself on the brink of tears. How dare he do that, offering up affection as though he cared about him. As though everything would be alright in the end.

As though there was any chance of a beautiful reunion.


	20. A Kiss Goodbye

Slipping out of the casino, unseen by either friend or foe, darting between the shadows to the allocated spot he would wait for Vigil. From his spot on one of the casino’s many rooftops, he had a clear view of Joker’s doomed escape. Still feeling the warmth of the raven on his lips, he forced himself to watch as the tragedy unfolded. Still ad unflinching, he watched Joker emerged, breaking through the stained glass window with pompous flair, watched as he tried to flee from the riot squad, watched as the butt of a standard-issue riot squad rifle was slammed into the raven’s mask, throwing him into the mass of waiting cops below.

His orders were to stay and that spot until Vigil arrived to pick him up. Undoubtedly the golden-eyed man knew he would see all of this from his spot.

“Good work, young master,” Vigil cooed as he stalked up behind his young ward.

A black trench coat- eerily similar to the one Joker wore in the metaverse, was settled onto his shoulders, covering his white ensemble. Silently, he allowed himself to be guided back out into the real world and into an unassuming black car. He was settled into the back seat, coat still draped over his shoulders – the fabric was faintly perfumed with the rich musk of ground coffee, the spice of curry, and something unnameable. Ahh, it was a test. He buried the urge to nestle his face into the collar of the coat, locking it behind a wrought iron will, and forced himself to not even so much as trave his tongue over his lips, despite the memory of the kiss lingering like a fresh mist. If he did any of that, Vigil would know, and the man would pry this kernel of warmth from him.

Neither were the type for idle chatter, even if they were both versed in it. It was a skill only used to keep up their fronts; a means to keep their masks pristean and their true natures buried away from prying eyes. The roundabout drive over to the police station was heavy and silent, the air feeling as though it had turned to molasses. Vigil had chosen to leave and drive back using back roads and side streets- a mean to prevent suspicion from those unrelated. Parking in a side lot a few feet from the lumbering building of mortar and concrete, several more hours were aloud to tick by, to ensure the police and Sae would be finished with their business by the time he arrived. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear, Akechi waited with the patience of a saint (it have been beaten into him early on) until Vigil opened the car door for him.

Shrugging off the coat, he slid out of the car. The silencer was slipped into the inner pocket of his peacoat; a heavy weight despite weighing no more than his smartphone. He wasn't given a gun, didn’t need to be given a gun. His orders were to use the guard’s gun, shoot him first before shooting his allotted target (he didn’t dare use that boy’s name). He schooled his face easily into the charming smile that was always plastered on TVs, nodded to his caretaker, and began his march to the underground interrogation room.

“This entire story of yours is just so, unbelievable!” Sae Nijma groaned, rubbing her temples.

Ren held his head silently. It was still throbbing like someone was jackhammering it from the inside, but the pain was starting to ease up, the fog was beginning to lift. Looks like the drugs were finally wearing off. Through blurry eyes, the edges of everything around him runny like watercolors, he watched the elder Niijima sister, saw how conflicted she was. With a little more pushing, yes, all he needed to do was push her just a little more.

“But, you have me convinced,” Sae sighed (heh). “Despite how crazy something like the metaverse actually existing sounds, it answers many of the questions I had regarding the metal shutdown and psychotic breakdown cases.” The silver-haired woman shook her head. “So then, where you and your collaborators able to discern the identity of this black-masked person? The one Madarame and Kaneshiro’s shadows mentioned.”

Ren shook his head, then wince at the pain the flared up from the small motion. “No, we never confirmed his identity, but we have our suspicions,” His voice came out raspy and breaking.

“Really?!” Sae demanded. “Tell me, who do you suspect is the culprit behind their heinous crimes!”

Sae’s words made his head throb, despite not being a single decibel louder than before. Who was there suspect again, the person they believed- but lacked solid proof linking them to those crimes? Ah, that’s right. Ren bright up a finger to trace the outline of his lips, even now the sensation of warmth and softness lingers against the now chapped and split flesh.

“I- can’t say who right now, but they were someone we knew would betray us, so we let them join, it made it easier to hide that we, in turn, were conspiring against them,” He replied. 

Was it insane of him that he’d wished he’d stolen more than just that one kiss? Was it strange that he kissed his soon-to-be killer in the first place?

“So you were all aware that you’d be sold out, and that this would happen, why did you just go along with such a plan?”

“To try and figure out who was pulling Black Mask’s string. He is nothing but a hitman for a higher power, someone who gains the most from all of this.”

He’d managed to make her believe in the metaverse, he was so close not to achieving his goal. He could see it in her eyes. It was now or never. He was a dead man if he couldn’t convince her to help him in that one single way. If he couldn’t convince her to aid him now, no amount of further pushing would net him anything. Besides, time was running out. Sae would be forced to leave soon, and then ‘he’ would come to finish the job. 

Ren pushed his phone towards Sae.

“Ahh? You smartphone… they found it on you when you were apprehended, and I’m told it’s guarded by a difficult lock,” She mused. “What about it?”

“I want to make a deal, prosecutor Nijima,” He replied cooly.

“A deal? Are you going to tell me how to open it?”

“No, I need for you to show the traitor this phone, they should already be on their way here.”

He saw the subtle way Sae stiffened at his words.

“You’ll know who to show this too, I trust you,” He pressed. “please, trust me on this, if you don’t show him this, we’re both in hot water.”

“Akechi-kun? What are you doing here?”

Akechi smiled as Sae approached him, fake and plastic as always. The timing was perfect, she must have just finished up interrogating R- the suspect. Not only did he no have to wait to enter the room, but he didn’t need to worry about her trying to get in.   
“I’m off to interrogate the prisoner, same as you,” He answered pleasantly.

Only, it wasn’t the same, not at all. Sae had sought answers to all of her questions, Akechi had no question, only orders. And those orders were to kill. It would be the perfect crime; no one would know it was murder, and nothing would point back to him. Not only would no one outside the conspiracy- sans Sae- know he even visited the suspect, the cameras would be off. The body would be handled by a coroner Shido commanded, and would declare it a suicide.

“Oh, that reminds me, does this mean anything to you?” Sae asked, showing him Amamiya’s phone.

“Mm, no, should it?” He asked.

Sae shrugged, then pocketed the phone once more. “See you later, and be careful, he’s a tricky one.”

Giving the older woman a polite nod before slipping past her, he continued deeper down the hallway, to the interrogation room where everything would come to its end. For a moment, it felt as though the world shifted, became disjointed. Like he was slipping from reality into the metaverse. Quickly glancing about his surroundings, nothing seemed different or off, and he wasn’t in his metaverse ensemble. Chalking it up to his nerves, which were tightly wound up. If there was ever a person he didn’t want to kill, it was Amamiya Ren, but he was incapable of going against orders.

Arriving at the interrogation room’s solid steel door, he flashed the guard (a dead man walking) a charming smile.

“Would you mind coming in with me? I’m a bit nervous to face a murderer alone.” He requestion.

He wasn’t scared, because Amamiya wasn’t the murderer of the two. He quickly removed the silencer from his inner breast pocket as the guard opened the steel door before leading the way inside. He flashed Amamiya a smile, could feel those iron-grey eyes drag across his face as though peering past his mask. The instant the door was closed shut, he snatched the guard’s gun and screwed in the silencer. The man let out a strangled cry, hands up in surrender. Squeezing the trigger without a moment’s hesitation, the silencer made what would have been a deafening roar a quiet pop as the bullet tore through the man’s chest, killing him quickly.

The guard collapsed backward, dead, he turned his gaze to Amamiya-kun. The younger boy stared at him, mouth slightly agape at the deadly display of wit and skill. There was no fear in those slate gray eyes, even after seeing his supposed allay kill someone so ruthlessly and efficiently. He slowly stepped closer to the bolted table, other hand fingering the muzzle of the gun and the silencer attached.

It felt as though this instance demanded some for of goodbye, so as he pressed the gun against the boy’s forehead, he stared into those eyes the color of steel and gunpowder and declared “This is where your justice ends”. 

Icy fingers gripped the wrist holding the gun, wrenching the silenced muzzle up with strength he didn’t suspect the bloody, beaten, potentially drugged youth to still have. The metal chare squealed as it ground against the stone floor, Amamiya standing quickly. The gun popped, the fired bullet skinned over Amamiya’s head harmlessly only to crunch uselessly into the wall behind. 

More fingers buried themselves in the loose waves at the back of his head. He was dragged forward by his hair, locks of cinnamon brown behind tugged free of its braid, chapped lips cool and dry pressed themselves against his mouth. Unlike their first kiss, which was tender, chaste, and spoke of a promise to return. This kiss was needier, hungrier despite also being closed-mouthed, it was like the raven was drinking up the breath from his lungs. This one screamed of farewell.

The hand gripping tight to his wrist rubbed soothing circles into the exposed inner flesh. Unable to react, unable to think, Akechi lost himself in this just as unfortunate display of affection. When those rough lips pulled away from his own, and those cool hands slipped out from cinnamon tangles and came to rest against his flushed cheek, when the hand gripping his wrist like a lifeline let go. His eyes burned, throat tight, and a single tear, the first display of genuine emotion in years slipped down his cheek. A calloused thumb brushed the single drop away, Ren smirking over at him, as devilish and coy as he was as Joker.

He didn’t stop smiling, even as the gun was placed once more to his head. He didn’t fight as the trigger was pulled, as the bullet tor through his skull, spraying the wall behind him with blood and gore. Even as his lifeless body crumpled back into its chair, body dropping against the table, he was still smiling. He looked so at peace like that, smiling like that cat who’d gotten the cream. No one would ever know the true reason he was smiling, why he looked content and blissful in death.

Akechi didn’t weep as he removed the silencer and dropped it back into his breast pocket, didn’t sob as he positioned Ren’s fingers into the trigger and grip of the gun, didn’t breakdown as he exited from the room. One leather-clad finger traced the bow of his bottom lip, the other hand fishing out his phone.

He needed to let Shido know the dead was done, then take out his other target.


	21. Checkmate

Weariness clung to his skin, cloying like steam, it clotted in his bones, festered in his chest like an infection, weighed him down like a necklace of lead. He was tired, but his final target for the night, the Director of the SIU, was dead. The shadows bleeding out on the ground by his feet had put up a desperate struggle, like so many before him. Staving off the inevitable until a bullet finally tore through his chest cavity, ending his maligned existence for good.

Staring blankly down at the dying man’s body, the image of Amamiya Ren, freshly dead and smiling after that stolen kiss, flashed before him for a moment. He was driven from the though as the palace shook and began crumbling. There was no time to think, to feel, only work to be done.

Sprinting easily though the collapsing cognition, calling upon Loki and his hefty broadsword every so often to keep his path clear, he ducked and rolled, the world twisting and writhing around him as he was ejected back into reality. Taking in harsh breaths through his nose, a quick look around informed him he was in an empty back ally not far from the public prosecutor’s office. 

“I take it the deed is done?” Vigil’s cool voice asked, as the man himself strolled into view.

“Yes, both Amamiya and the SIU director are dead,” He answered monotonously.

“Good, let us return home then.”

Akechi found himself tired in ways he’d forgotten to be possible. There was a lingering pain after executing Amamiya, a lingering guilt stronger than that he’d felt in the past. He forced his face to remain calm and porcelain, the pain in his chest threatening to drive him mad, as Vigil guided him back to the car. Quick fingers plucked the long-forgotten silencer from his inner breast pocket, the metal cylinder slipping effortlessly back up his caretaker’s sleeve as though it were a magician’s prop.

Guided back to the unassuming car, Vigil draped the coat once more over his slight shoulders before assisting him back into the car. Once safely bucked in Akechi let his head lawl lifelessly to one side, eye transfixed to what lay outside his window despite being lost in his own head. The car quietly purred to life, reminding him of the soothing rumble of Mona’s engine. The drab night time scenery blurred as the car picked up speed, buildings blurred into walls, walls blurred into dark shadows, the unity of dark colors reminded him of mementos as it rushed by outside Mona’s windows.

His iron will, tempered and strong despite being pushed to its limits, kept him from reacting to the coat. Once, in the past, Joker had tossed his own trench coat over him. Several days back the pair had become separated from the rest, lost deep in the shadowy labyrinth of mementos left to cower from the reaper while trying to regroup. Smiling, Joker had thrown the dark coat over him to hide the pearly white of his princely garb. It had smelled of coffee and curry spice, along with the lingering traces of flowers and cinnamon, and the unmistakable smell of Amamiya himself.

When they rolled into the basement parking lot of Shido’s penthouse home, Akechi allowed himself to be shepherd all the way to the grand residence and into the bathroom. He willed his fingers not to so much as twitch as the coat was removed from his shoulders, followed quickly by the rest of his clothes. Vigil hummed, an eyebrow rasing at the messy state of his braid, but did not inquire about it. Likely the man chalked it up to his fight with the SIU Director.

Waiting still as Vigil drew his bath, he looked into the large vanity mirror, and almost gasped as who stared back. Who was that stranger, with the sad red eyes? The expression, the sorrowful depth to those wine-colored orbs, it only lasted a moment before his empty face stared back at him. The mere fact he’d even expressed something like that at all, unintentionally too, was starting. He shouldn’t be capable of expressing emotions. But only hours earlier he’d cried out of grief, even if it was a single tear. Tears, even a single one, should be impossible, but there he’d cried.

Was he no longer as empty as he believed himself to be?

His face remained passive and empty as he thought about such things. Remaining quiet and pliant, Vigil helped him settled into the tub, bathwater stiflingly warm as ever. Shampoo, soap, conditioner; it was the same several steps every time, a repetition he knew quite well. What was this yearning deep within him?

The smile on Ren’s face was nothing short of devilish, something he normally wore as Joker. The plan had worked- there’s no way Akechi wouldn’t have shown up by now otherwise. He wondered if his cognitive double was dead by now, and if his own personal gamble had worked. Sae’s cognition of him was shaped by her perception of him, formed from the words and actions he conveyed to her. So, it stood to reason that if she saw the emotions he felt for his would-be killer, that his double would reflect and act on them.

Eventually, the solid steel door rumbled open once more. Sae, hard-eyed and determined walked over to him, heals clacking as always against the concrete floor.

“Can you stand?” She hissed into his ear.

Forgoing a verbal answer, he rose slowly to his feet instead. Ren found himself to not be totally steady, the moment gravity was working against him the world started to spin. Likely a combination of the lingers side effects of the drug and the beating he’d endured beforehand. His body swayed, and his legs did want to give out on him, but he remained upright. Sae helped to support him, slinging one arm over her shoulders, a firm grip on his back to keep him from slipping.

“Honestly, I’m not sure whether to call you brave or an idiot,” Sae chuckled. “But, whatever you are, you’ve convinced me of your justice.”

“That was the plan,” He quipped back, voice dry and hoarse. “But I believed in her conviction, that deep down you still held tight to your justice.”

He saw the slightly wilted look on her face. Her actions hadn’t been very virtuous as of late, decisions fueled more often by envy and anger, for the sake of self-gain rather than justice proper. But, like how his words had aided in Mishima changing under his own power, His words, along with Makoto’s own back in the palace, had surely aided Sae in changing on her own, without having to steal her treasure.

It was what he’d been trying to do in Akechi. He had pushed where he could, staking the coals where he couldn’t push. Right when he’d stolen that good luck kiss, he was sure he’d seen sad happiness in the other’s maroon eyes. And if his luck had held, even if it wasn’t him per se, his cognitive double should have stolen a goodbye kiss from the older teen as well. What was Akechi’s reaction to that? Any sort of emotion, from a tear, a scream, anything beyond emptiness was a win for him. Whatever control Vigil had over the teen, was slowly coming undone.

The next time they crossed paths, and there would be a next time (their next target would be this mysterious Shido-san), he would see how much his gamble had paid off. If even a glimmer of life was found in those eyes of his, Ren would know he’d won.


	22. Calm Before the Storm

The painful, icy emptiness and guilt persisted long into the evening and well after that. He’d already seen Amamiya’s lifeless body before he left, but hearing a news anchor so callously announce his death was a new type of numb. It wasn’t guilt that was eating away on him, or, not even more guilt on top of the rest. Killing Amamiya didn’t make him feel guilty, instead, it brought about a crushing despair that threatened to choke him on air.

Emotions unknown, foreign and strange, clawed at his heart. If Vigil wasn’t distracted; shuffling through papers and photos as the golden-eyes man mulled over something, maybe he might have noticed the cracks. Bringing a finger to ghost over his lips, Akechi could still vividly remember both kisses, the warm comfort of the first; bitter with a sorrowful promise, he icy desperation of the second; rough and needy with parting. 

Why had the raven kissed him? What drove him to do something so unbelievably crazy? They stood on opposite sides; thief and detective, killer and savior, black and white, though Amamiya didn’t, couldn’t have known about his intent to kill, there were so many reasons for him to keep the detective at arm’s length. And yet, that was the exact opposite of what the raven had done.

Amamiya had weaseled his way into his life, brought him a warmth that had been lacking in his life until then. Had seen so acutely the emptiness that hid just beneath the surface, and instead of being repulsed or driven away by it, wandered deeper, tried to change that. He might have been the only one to grieve when “Akechi Goro” stopped existing. It would have been fine to just have that small bit of kindness that dwelled in the café, but no, Amamiya had to take it a mile farther.

“Young Master, it’s about time for bed.” Vigil spoke up. “come, rest is important.”

Nodding, Akechi followed his caretaker silently.

“…Nyx will arrive soon enough,” Vigil murmured, tucking him in. “and then, whatever regrets you still carry will no longer be a burden.”

Right, the pain, emptiness, all of it will go away when Nyx devoured him and took his body as their own.

“They certainly didn’t pull any punches, now did they?” Takemi muttered darkly. “Thankfully, nothing appears to be broken, and the drugs don’t seem to be having any lasting effects, but you’re going to be hurting for a while.”

Ren hissed as the gothic-rock doctor applied more salve to his cuts and bruises. The moment they’d first started roughing him up in the interrogation room, he’d figured as such. At least nothing was broken. A little surprising, considering how hard that one detective had stomped on his leg.

“Good thing I’ll be tacking it easy for the next few days- ow!” Ren yelped as pages were placed over a particularly tender wound. “…you’re having fun with this, aren’t you,"

“Oh? I haven’t the slightest understanding of what you mean,” Takemi hummed innocently. “I’m just making sure my beloved guinea pig isn’t going to die on me, you’re too valuable a test subject to loose just yet.”

If doing so would have earned him more rough treatment, Ren might have scoffed just then. Sitting in a chair in the examination room, Sojiro was particularly glum. Understandable, the boy who was in his care, and had become like a son to the man, had been beaten quite severely by the police, labeling it an interrogation despite it clearly looking like torture, ending with him facking his death just to survive.

“Honestly, this is why I hate dealing with cops, the whole system needs a good dose of bleach if you ask me,” The barista muttered to himself.

“Believe me, if we’d had other options, we would have jumped,” Ren replied softly. “getting beat up by the police wasn’t exactly my idea of a fun Friday night,”

“Hold still!” Takemi scolded.

Sojiro sighed. “Honestly, I already have enough gray hairs as it is! And this isn't even the end of it,”

Right, this wasn’t the end. This confirmed that Akechi was working with the mastermind behind the thieves’ fall from grace, and the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns. The puppet master pulling the strings… the moment they had a face and a name, they would target him next.

“No, but the worst of it is over with, the police should leave us alone for now,”

Amamiya Ren. Shido continued to look at the death certificate, a copy provided by the coroner who’d declared the Phantom Thief dead. The name sounded familiar, but the politician couldn’t quite place it. He knew who the brat was from Akechi and Vigil, some no-name kid seeking to rile up the public with social reform, he’d even crossed paths with him back in early spring.

But that wasn’t what bothered him. Something nagged at him, something saying he’d encountered the boy before that.

“Hmm, just who are you?” He wondered.

“Are you thinking about the boy?” Vigil inquired.

He shot the raven a sour looked. The none-human ignored him, smiling as if talking about the weather, and no one of the biggest thorns in his side to date.

“Amamiya Ren, if I recall correctly, he’s that boy who you sued a while back,” Vigil continued, ignoring any dirty looks he received. “The one who stepped in when you were dealing with that woman, several months back, you tripped and hit your head. You framed him for assault, ruining his life despite being what, 16, 17?”

“Hmph, I’m I supposed expected to remember every insect I step on my path to glory and power?” He scoffed.

Vigil shrugged. “That isn’t my place to decide, all I care about is ensuring the boy grows into a fine vessel for my master. What you or that unholy amalgamation of bleeding gold and cruelty chose to do is of no concern to myself, as long as you stay out of my way.”

Vigil held no bond of loyalty to Shido, the only reason he listened to him at all was because it often enabled him to better mold Akechi to his whims. That, and he was only following his end of the bargain. Acting in place of his master, the goddess Nyx, he fulfilled the promise that in exchange for his bastard son’s life, he would be compensated with power enough to achieve his goals.

The other man was not human, he might look and act like one, but he was no different than those shadows that wandered the sea of souls. Vigil had reminded him of that fact on several occasions, doing things to those who threatened his duty with a power unattainable by mortal hands.

“I am well aware of that, I am no fool after all,” Shido replied.


	23. 7th Target Confirmed

All the texts from close confidants, having seen the news and worried for his safety, it was heartwarming. It reminded Ren that his efforts did affect those around them, that he was reaching the people who needed such courage. This was their intent from the moment they chose to continue operations as the Phantoms.

Now for their next target, the elusive ‘Shido’ who commanded Akechi to kill. A man with the power to influence the police, who possessed a hacker skilled enough to alter the Phan-site and make then target Okumura. This was the enemy they had made through their actions, someone who orchestrated to make them take the fall for his own selfishness. Someone who was likely heavily connected to Vigil and Akechi.

“Have you figured out who’s behind all this?” Sojiro asked.

“Akechi actually let that slip, it was right before my bug was removed,” Futaba said. “He called the man, Shido-san.”

“Shido… Feels like I’ve heard that somewhere.” Ryuji mused.

“He is unmistakably a man of power if he has strong connections to the police.” Yusuke pointed out. 

A name, not even a full one to boot, wasn’t much to go by. They at least know from the way Akechi spoke, that it was a man, and one with great influence. First or last name… It was likely the last name, but they weren't sure just how uncommon it was. How many Shido’s ould they have to sift through before they found their target.

“Shido… Could it be Shido Masayoshi?” Sojiro wondered. 

“… Who?” Ann asked, puzzled.

“I believe he’s a politician… Remember, Ryuji? You said his speech was too loud.” Makoto supplemented.

“Fo real?!” The blond gasped. 

“It’s certainly possible that Shido is the mastermind…” Sae pointed out.

“Huh…?” Yusuke breathed.

“Do you have some kind of evidence?” Haru inquired.

“Nothing material. However, there are various conditions which align with that possibility.” Sae explained. Leaning forward in her seat, the woman continued. “First, he would profit from damage done to the current administration by the psychotic breakdowns. He’s maintained a negative stance towards the Phantom Thieves and has gained tremendous popularity. On top of that, he’ll most likely become the next prime minister if he wins this upcoming election.”

“No…,” Ann gasped.

“Did he set us up with that election in mind?” Yusuke grimaced.

“If he is behind this, that would be a stark opposition to his honest public image.” Sae mused.

“So his current position and popularity is just him benefiting from the mental collapses…” Makoto sumerized. 

“…Acually, that fit’s with something I’ve been sleeping on,” Futaba piped in.

The young girl pulled out her phone again and placed it down on the table. “I got this like right before they deleted my bug.”

“…Ah, hello there, I’m sorry neither of us answered earlier, but we were in the metevarse,” Vigil’s cool voice said. “In regards to that target you asked about earlier, it will take some time. The Phantoms have been very proactive recently, so most of Akechi’s time in the metaverse has been spent there.

“Oh, don’t worry, he will be eliminated shortly, even these tricky thieves need to take breaks, and should a pinch in time happen, well, I can handle it myself, as you are well aware of.”

Vigil was so carefree as he talked about murder, speaking of it like one casually discuss lunch or a recently viewed movie. “Everything will be fine, you worry too much.

“Hush, I am well aware. Have I not been keeping my end of our deal? I have done much to ensure the power you seek becomes attainable, both in mentoring Akechi to kill, as well as influencing the politics of this world by my own hand. Just as my master promised you all those years ago, you will become the prime minister of this country, and steer it however you wish…”

“I didn’t think much of it at the time, but you don’t suppose Vigil was talking to Shido, do you?” Futaba said, grabing her phone.

Everyone seemed to think on this recording. Shido was running in this year's election, and Vigil just confirmed the person they were conspiring with was a candidate.

“So I was right,” Sae growled. “it seems there was a case after all,” The lady prosecutor scowled, likely regarding what in that recording set her off. They were all wise enough not to comment.

“So, it’s looking more and more like Shido Masayoshi is our next target,” Morgana purred. “A high ranking politician, eh, he’s quite the target indeed.”

“A man like that is running for prime minister? We’ll make him have a change of heart, no matter what it takes.” Haru resolved. 

“Mom…” Futaba whispered.

Sojiro groaned, holding his face in one hand. “Shido, huh…?” He murmured. 

“What is the matter?” Yusuke inquired. 

“I had a feeling he was wrapped up in all this.” The older man answered. “just based on the connections I had from my previous job…”

This got everyone’s attention. Before retiring and opening Leblanc, Sojiro did say he worked for the government, it was how he met Futaba’s mom. And that job, it seemed, had him interacting in some way with Shido.

“I think the one who crushed Wakaba’s research and confiscated her material was probably Shido.” He explained. “From the moment Wakaba died… I had a hunch he was involved.” The older barista sighed. “But there wasn;t anything I could do, so I chose to protect Futaba and went into hiding.”

“Why didn’t you say that sooner!?” Futaba exclaimed.

“You guys would’ve definitely gone after him if I had.” Sojiro pointed out. “He would’ve just killed all of you, no doubt. That’s what he usually does to people who get in his way.”

“Originally, I was looking into the mental shutdown cases. It was then that I accidentally stumbled upon government research regarding the psychotic breakdowns.” Sae spoke up. “So, I tracked down the whereabouts of that research data and met with the associated parties. Boss was one of those parties.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I would never have imagenedall of this was connected…

“The mental shutdowns, psychotic breakdowns, Shido, Vigil, and even the Phantom Thieves’ actions… I don’t know why Vigil is assisting him, the man’s hard to read on the best of days.”

“Way back when, Shido kept saying he was going to be prime minister one day. Nobody believed him though…” Sojiro added.

“What’s going to happen to this country if Shido becomes prime minister? What about the world…?” Ann wondered.

“The issue is simpler than that.” Yusuke sighed. “This is nothing more than yet another selfish adult trying to impose his will on the public.”

“We gotta expose that rotten bastard!” Ryuji snapped.

“Yeah, we’ll do it like always!” Morgana agreed.

“Then let’s check the Nav!” Haru proposed.

Ryuji pulled out his phone. “Masayoshi Shido, the guy runnin’ for prime minister…” 

“Result found.” The nav’s voice chimed back, confirming it once and for all.

“Got a hit!” Ryuji exclaimed, jolting to his feet. “Well… duh. It ain't a surprise he has one.”

“Where would the location be?” Yusuke wondered. 

“…What kind of things go through a politician’s head?” Ann asked.

“I always think of dirty money and shady actions.” Futaba said.

“What does he do? And where? We don’t got a clue about this guy’s life.” Ryuji groaned.

“His palace must be somewhere that politiciants frequent.” Makoto pointed out. “Any ideas?”

“Well, isn’t the Diet building an important place for politiciantns?” Ren said. “it would also make sence, considering his ambition is to be prime minister, I guess.”

“Candidate found,” Ryuji’s phone chirped.

“We got a hit!” The blond cheered.

“How arrogant must he be to see himself as the ruler of the Diet Building?” Yusuke scoffed.

“Our next target’s the big-shot politician Masayoshi Shido. We’re gonna do this, right?” Ryuji asked to confirm.

“Yes, we have to.” Ren affirmed.

“Hell yeah!” Ryuji grinned. “Nobody against it?”

“Of course!” ann affirmed, determined.

“He will be a worthy opponent.” Yusuke said.

“Let’s win this, together!” Haru said, determined.

“Time for revenge!” Futaba growled.

“Than it’s unanimous!” Morgana declared.


	24. The Hunter Comes

Time resumed as if nothing had changed, as if a horrible tragedy hadn’t befallen the world. Perhaps Akechi was just exaggerating it, but it was still so od to see people go about their daily lives so readily after Amamiya’s death. Though he had died in police custody, no one raised any protest. The citizens didn't chastise the police for this poor handling of the suspect, the news didn’t twist and turn the story to fit their needs.

Despite the Thieves being a topic of hot debate only recently, it now was as if they’d never existed. It was strange, how easily the masses could shift focus from one craze to the next, going from blind devotion to boundless rage at a coin flip, forgetting the past as if it had never happened.

Akechi smiled one of his winning smiles as the harsh, unforgiving lights of the TV studio glared down on him. It was just another TV interview, one of the first after he’d announced his hiatus from the spotlight. They were interviewing him about the Phantom Thieves, he was credited with their arrest. He brushed aside the guilty feeling that thought brought with it.

“It must have been such a shock to hear the Phantom Thief committed suicide,” The host said animatedly. “how did you react to hearing the news?”

“Well, it did come as a shock to me, He replied kindly. “but, Joker always was a proud person, I supposed the humility of being caught was just too much,”

He was good at lying through his teeth. It was cloyingly sweet and made him want to vomit, but like everything else, he suppressed it and showed the people what they wanted to see.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised, he had quite the number of charges to answer for, yes? And even though he was a minor, he’d be lucky to avoid the death penalty,” The host pointed out.

“You have a point there, he wasn’t getting away with his crimes. That’s for sure,” He faux agreed.

Most of those charges were either completely false or a stretch, but the public didn’t need to know that. Not that they ever could know that. It was a truth that would ruin Shido, ruin so many greedy individuals if it ever got out. It would ruin him as well, the truth, not that he cared. This fame of his was only a tool Vigil and Shido used, he was nothing more than their smiling puppet.

He continued answering questions, going in the direction the host nudged him in as they talked. He wasn’t thinking about his words, didn’t pay attention to what he was asked. Akechi operated on autopilot as his thoughts wandered.

He thought about Amamiya, and how bold the raven was before his death. There was Sae, with Amamiya’s phone… Why did she show it to him? It would have been easy enough to just mention she had it, or maybe hold it up, but she’d done neither, instead, holding it out for him to look down at. The phone…

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of someone’s phone down in the audience.

“Don’t you know it’s rude not to silence your phone before a recording?” The host snapped. “if you aren’t respectful, the Phantom Thieves will steal your heart.”

Phantom thieves, the phone. Before he could think about that line of thinking, the host turned back to face him.

“Look! Even Akechi here is spooked!” He joked.

“Oh, I apologize,” He replied apologetically. “I seemed to have more on my mind that I anticipated.”

“Young Master, is everything alright?” Vigil inquired. “You’ve seemed, distracted, recently.”

“It’s nothing Vigil, just thinking about something,” He replied dismissively.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt foolish for even considering it a possibility. There’s no way Amamiya could still be alive, he’d shot him right before his eyes after all. Had felt his lips, how chapped and cold, that couldn’t be faked.

Leaning against the cool surface of a concrete pillar, Akechi worked to dismiss the notion Amamiya Ren was anything less than dead. As he worked to think of other things, his phone began ringing. He blinked in surprise, seeing Shido’s number on screen. The man rarely called him, especially at while at work.

“Hello Shido-san, is everything alright?” He asked, bringing the phone to his ear.”

“I need you to do something before the election,” Shido hissed. “eliminate any connections Vigil deems untrustworthy, all of them!”

“What? But isn’t that rather unnecessary? Your victory in the coming election is guaranteed, wouldn’t it be best to wait until afterward before severing such ties?” He rebutted carefully. Odd, the politician sounded unnaturally frustrated.

“Don’t talk back to me brat!” Shido snapped. “Just do as I say! This must be perfect, I refuse to jeopardize my place at the top.”

“…I understand, sir,” He answered hesitantly.

“Good, now get on it!”

Shido cut the call. Yes, the man sounded unnaturally aggravated and paranoid, unnaturally so even. It was risky, culling so many people so close to the election day, too many mental shutdowns in such a cramped period of time would raise suspicion, people would start to talk.

“You heard all of that.” It wasn't a question.

Vigil nodded slightly, humming to himself. “How odd, Shido is normally more thoughtful and rational, I wonder…” His caretaker looked at him. “You did kill Joker, correct?”

“Yes, I saw him die.” He confirmed.

Unnatural paranoia, irrational actions. Shido wasn't acting like himself, it was as if someone was altering his cognitions. Altering a person’s cognition… No, it couldn’t be.

“It seems we underestimated those thieves.” Vigil said cooly. “it seemed like Joker wasn't as much of a lynchpin as we determined him to be, they must have chosen a new head to replace the one we cut off.”

“I’m sorry, perhaps I should have taken steps to ensure all of them were caught.”

“It’s fine, Young Master, the fault is with myself and Shido, we deemed them to be only fallowers being herded around by Joker, we should have realized from your reports that the other had more autonomy than that.”

Vigil shook his head and smiled. None of this mattered to him, but there was the obligation to at least attempt to stop the thieves.

“Well, this isn’t the end of the world, just go and catch them in his palace, if you stop them there then everything will turn out fine.”

Leading Akechi to the car, he was given new orders. Eliminate all of the Phantom Thieves, and make sure they were just as dead as Joker. Their foes were likely still securing an infiltration route to Shido’s treasure. He already knew the ins and outs of the man’s palace, a precaution should something like this happen.

The thieves needed to gather 5 keycards from five key cognitions. If they were smart, the cleaner would be left for last. There was a spot between the cognition and the assembly hall that the thieves would need to pass on their way. If offered enough room to fight.

It was time to end this, once and for all.


End file.
